afb 


E.  H.  PIERCE,, 
OLD  BOOK  SHOP, 


THE    STRANGE   ADVENTURES 


OF 


A   PHAETON 


THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURls 


OF 


A  PHAETON 


BY 

WILLIAM   BLACK 


NEW  AND   REVISED  EDITION 


NEW   YORK:    HARPER   AND   BROTHERS 

1892 


LONDON 
PRINTED  BY   WILLIAM   CLOWKS  AND  SONS,   LIMTTKI 

STAMFORD  STREET  AND  CHAEIVG  OSOSS. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAP.  1'AGE 

I. — OUR  BELL.         .......  1 

II. — A  LUNCHEON  IN  HOLBORN   ......  8 

III. — "  PRINZ  EUGEN,  DER  EDLE  RITTER  "      .         .         .21 

IV. — ARTHUR  VANISHES      ......  32 

V. — QUEEN  TITANIA  AFLOAT  .    .         .         ...         .46 

VI. — A  GIFT  OF  TONGUES 60 

VII.— ATRA  CURA 80 

VIII.— NEAR  WOODSTOCK  TOWN 98 

IX. — A  MOONLIGHT  NIGHT 109 

X.— THE  AVENGER 123 

XI.— SOME  WORCESTER  SAUCE 133 

XII.— THE  KIVALS 144 

XIII.— SAVED! 159 

XIV.— A  SHREWSBURY  PLAY 172 

XV.— LA  PATRIE  EN  DANGER 185 

XVI. — OUR  UHLAN  OUT-MANOEUVRED     ....  195 

XVII.— IN  THE  FAIRY  GLEN 209 

XVIIL— THE  COLLAPSE 218 

XIX. — THE  WHITE  OWLS  OF  GARSTANG  .         .         .         .  231 

XX. — CHLOE'S  GARLAND       ......  249 

XXI. — ALL  ABOUT  WINDERMERE    .....  263 

XXII. — ON  CAVIARE  AND  OTHER  MATTERS        .         .         .  275 

XXIII. — A  NIGHT  ON  GRASMERE       .         .         .         .         .  286 

XXIV. — ARTHUR'S  SONG 296 

XXV. — ARMAGEDDON 306 

XXVI.— THE  LAST  OF  GRASMERE 318 

XXVII. — ALONG  THE  GRETA 330 

XXVIII.—"  ADE!" 339 

XXIX. — OVER  THE  BORDER 346 

XXX.— TWEED  SIDE 358 

XXXI. — OUR  EPILOGUE  .                                                     ,  3G9 


264012 


THE  STEANGE  ADVENTUEES 
OF  A  PHAETON. 


CHAPTER  I. 

OUR  BELL. 

"Oh,  the  oak,  an!  the  ash,  and  the  bonny  ivy-tree, 
They  grow  so  green  in  the  North  Countrea  ! " 

IT  was  all  settled  one  evening  in  the  deep  winter  time. 
Outside,  a  sharp  east  wind  was  whistling  round  the  solitudes 
of  Box  Hill ;  the  Mole,  at  the  foot  of  our  garden,  as  it  stole 
stealthily  through  the  darkness,  crackled  the  flakes  of  ice 
that  lay  along  its  level  banks  ;  and  away  on  Mickleham 
Downs — >and  on  the  further  uplands  towards  the  sea — the 
cold  stars  were  shining  down  on  a  thin  coating  of  snow. 

Indoors  there  was  another  story  to  tell ;  for  the  mistress 
of  the  house — Queen  Titania,  as  we  call  her — a  small  person, 
with  a  calm,  handsome,  pale  face,  an  abundance  of  black 
hair,  big  eyes  that  are  occasionally  somewhat  critical  in 
look,  and  a  certain  magnificence  of  manner  which  makes 
you  fancy  her  rather  a  tall  and  stately  woman — has  a  trick 
of  so  filling  her  drawing-room  with  dexterous  traceries  of 
grass  and  ferns,  with  plentiful  flowers  of  her  own  rearing, 
and  with  a  crowded  glare  of  light,  that,  amid  the  general 
warmth,  the  glow,  and  perfume,  and  variety  of  brilliant 
colours,  you  would  almost  forget  that  the  winter  is  chill 
and  desolate  and  dark. 

Then  Bell,  our  guest  and  companion  for  many  a  year, 
lends  herself  to  the  deception  ;  for  the  wilful  young  person, 
though  there  were  a  dozen  inches  of  snoAV  on  the  meadows, 
would  come  down  to  dinner  in  a  dress  of  blue,  with  touches 

B 


2  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

of  white  gossamer  and  fur  about  the  tight  wrists  and  neck — 
with  a  \vhit3  ioye  and  a  bunch  of  forget-me-nots,  as  blue  as 
her  eyes,  twisted  into  the  soft  masses  of  her  light-brown 
hair,  and  with  a  certain  gay  and  careless  demeanour,  meant 
to  let  us  know  that  she,  having  been  born  and  bred  in  the 
North  Country,  has  a  fine  contempt  for  the  mild  rigours  of 
our  southern  winter. 

But  on  this  particular  evening,  Bell — our  Bell,  our  Bonny 
Bell,  our  Lady  Bell,  as  she  is  variously  called  when  she 
provokes  people  into  giving  her  pet  names — had  been  sitting 
for  a  long  time  with  an  open  book  on  her  knee  ;  and  as  this 
volume  was  all  about  the  English  lakes,  and  gave  pictures  of 
them,  and  placed  here  and  there  little  tail-pieces  of  ferns 
and  blossoms,  she  may  have  been  driven  to  contrast  the 
visions  thus  conjured  up  with  the  realities  suggested  by  the 
fierce  gusts  of  wind  that  were  blowing  coldly  through  the 
box-trees  outside.  All  at  once  she  placed  the  volume  gently 
on  the  white  hearth-rug,  and  said,  with  a  strange  wistfulness 
shining  in  the  deeps  of  her  blue  eyes, — • 

"  Tita,  cannot  you  make  us  talk  about  the  summer,  and 
drown  the  noise  of  that  dreadful  wind  ?  Why  don't  we 
conspire  to  cheat  the  winter  and  make  believe  it  is  summer 
again  ?  Doesn't  it  seem  to  be  years  and  years  ago  since  we 
had  the  long  light  evenings  ;  the  walks  between  the  hedge- 
rows ;  the  waiting  for  the  moon,  up  on  the  crest  of  the  hill ; 
and  then  the  quiet  stroll  downward  into  the  valley  and 
home  again,  with  the  wild  roses,  and  the  meadow-sweet,  and 
the  evening  campions  filling  the  warm  night  air  ?  Come, 
let  us  sit  close  together,  and  make  it  summer  !  See,  Tita  I 
— it  is  a  brilliant  morning — you  can  nearly  catch  a  glimpse 
of  the  Downs  above  Brighton — and  we  are  going  to  shut  up 
the  house,  and  go  away  anywhere  for  a  whole  month.  Bound 
comes  that  dear  old  mail-phaeton,  and  my  pair  of  bonny 
bays  are  whinnying  for  a  bit  of  sugar.  Papa  is  sulky " 

"  As  usual,"  remarks  my  Lady,  without  lifting  her  eyes 
from  the  carpet. 

" for  though  the  imperial  has  been  slung  on,  there 

is  scarcely  enough  room  for  the  heaps  of  our  luggage  ;  and, 
like  every  man,  he  has  a  deadly  hatred  of  bonnet-boxes. 
Then  you  take  your  seat,  my  dear,  looking  like  a  small 
empress  in  a  grey  travelling  dress  ;  and  Papa — after  pre- 


OF  A  PHAETON.  3 

tending  to  have  inspected  all  the  harness — takes  the  reins  ; 
I  pop  in  behind,  for  the  hood,  when  it  is  turned  down, 
makes  such  a  pleasant  cushion  for  your  arms,  and  you  can 
stick  your  sketch-book  into  it,  and  a  row  of  apples  and  any- 
thing else  ;  and  Sandy  touches  his  forelock,  and  Kate  bobs 
a  curtsy  ;  and  away  and  away  we  go  !  How  sweet  and 
fresh  the  air  is,  Tita  ! — and  don't  you  smell  the  honeysuckle 
in  the  hedge  ?  Why,  here  we  are  at  Dorking  !  Papa  pulls 
up  to  grumble  about  the  last  beer  that  was  sent ;  and  then 
Casfcor  and  Pollux  toss  up  their  heads  again,  and  on  we  drive 
to  Guildford,  and  to  Beading,  and  to  Oxford.  And  all 
through  England  we  go,  using  sometimes  the  old  coaching- 
roads,  and  sometimes  the  by-roads,  stopping  at  the  curious 
little  inns,  and  chatting  to  the  old  country  folks,  and  singing 
ballads  of  an  evening  as  we  sit  upon  the  hill-sides,  and  watch 
the  partridges  dusting  themselves  below  us  in  the  road  ;  and 
then  on  and  on  again.  Is  not  that  the  sea,  Tita  ? — look  at 
the  long  stretch  of  Morecambe  Bay,  and  the  yellow  sands, 
and  the  steamers  on  the  horizon  !  But  all  at  once  we  dive 
into  the  hilis  again  ;  and  we  come  to  the  old  familiar  places 
by  Applethwaite  and  Ambleside  ;  and  then  some  evening — 
some  evening,  Tita — we  come  in  sight  of  Grasmere,  and 
then — and  then " 

"  Why,  Bell !— what  is  the  matter  with  you  ?  "  cries  the 
other,  and  the  next  minute  her  arms  are  round  the  light- 
brown  head,  crushing  its  white  rose  and  its  blue  forget-me- 
nots. 

"  If  you  two  young  creatures,"  it  is  remarked,  "  would 
seriously  settle  where  we  are  to  go  next  summer,  you  would 
be  better  employed  than  in  rubbing  your  heads  together  like 
a  couple  of  baby  calves." 

"  Settle  !  "  says  Queen  Tita,  with  a  smile  of  gentle  imper- 
tinence on  her  face ;  "  we  know  who  is  allowed  to  settle 
things  in  this  house.  If  we  were  to  settle  anything,  some 
wonderful  discovery  would  be  made  about  the  horses'  feet ; 
or  the  wheels  of  that  valuable  phaeton  which  was  made,  I 
should  fancy,  about  the  time  the  owner  of  it  was  born " 

"  The  wife  who  mocks  at  her  husband's  grey  hairs,"  I 
remark  calmly, "  knowing  the  share  she  has  had  in  producing 
them " 

Here  our  Bonny  Bell  interfered,  and  a  truce  was  con- 

B  2 


4  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

eluded.  The  armistice  was  devoted  to  consideration  of  Bell's 
project,  which  at  length  it  was  resolved  to  adopt.  Why, 
after  going  year  after  year  round  the  southern  counties  in 
that  big,  old-fashioned  phaeton  which  had  become  as  a  house 
to  us,  should  we  not  strike  fairly  northward  ?  These  circles 
round  the  south  would  resemble  the  swinging  of  a  stone  in 
the  sling  before  it  is  projected  ;  and,  once  we  were  started 
on  this  straight  path,  who  could  tell  how  far  we  might 
not  go  ? 

"  Then,"  said  I — for  our  thoughts  at  this  time  were  often 
directed  to  the  great  masses  of  men  who  were  marching 
through  the  wet  valleys  of  France,  or  keeping  guard  amid  cold 
and  fog  in  the  trenches  around  Paris — "  suppose  that  by 
July  next  the  war  may  be  over — Count  von  Rosen  says  he 
means  to  pay  us  a  visit,  and  have  a  look  at  England.  Why 
should  not  he  join  our  party,  and  become  a  companion  for 
Bell  ?  " 

I  had  inadvertently  probed  a  hornets'  nest.  The  women 
of  our  household  were  at  that  time  bitter  against  the 
Germans  ;  and  but  half  an  hour  before  Bell  herself  had 
been  eloquently  denouncing  the  doings  of  the  Prussians. 
Had  they  not  in  secrecy  been  preparing  to  steal  back  Alsace 
and  Lorraine ;  had  they  not  taken  advantage  of  the  time 
when  the  good  and  gentle  France  was  averse  from  war  to 
provoke  a  quarrel ;  had  not  the  King  openly  insulted  the 
French  Ambassador  in  the  promenade  at  Ems  ;  and  had 
not  their  hordes  of  men  swarmed  into  the  quiet  villages, 
slaying  and  destroying,  robbing  the  poor  and  aged,  and 
winning  battles  by  mere  force  of  numbers  ?  Besides,  the 
suggestion  that  this  young  lieutenant  of  cavalry  might  be 
a  companion  for  Bell  appeared  to  be  an  intentional  injury 
done  to  a  certain  amiable  young  gentleman,  of  no  particular 
prospects,  living  in  the  Temple  ;  and  so  Bell  forthwith 
declared  her  dislike  not  only  of  the  German  officers,  but  of 
all  officers  whatsoever. 

"  And  as  for  Count  von  Rosen,"  she  said,  "  I  can  re- 
member him  at  Bonn  only  as  a  very  rude  and  greedy  boy, 
who  showed  a  great  row  of  white  teeth  when  he  laughed, 
and  made  bad  jokes  about  my  mistakes  in  German.  And 
now  I  dare  say  he  is  a  tall  fellow,  with  a  stiff  neck,  a  brown 
face,  perhaps  a  beard,  a  clanking  sword,  and  the  air  of  a 


OF  A  PHAETON.  5 

Bobadil,  as  he  stalks  into  an  inn  and  calls  out,  '  Kellnare  ! 
eene  Pulle  Sect !  und  sag  en  Sie  mat,  ivas  hat  en  Siefur  Zeit- 
ungen — die  Alljemeene  ?  ' ' 

I  ventured  to  point  out  to  Bell  that  she  might  alter  her 
opinion  when  von  Rosen  actually  came  over  with  all  the 
glamour  of  a  hero  about  him  ;  and  that,  indeed,  she  could 
not  do  better  than  marry  him. 

Bell  opened  her  eyes. 

"  Marry  him,  because  he  is  a  hero  !  No  !  I  would  not 
marry  a  hero,  after  he  had  become  a  hero.  It  would  be 
something  to  marry  a  man  who  was  afterwards  to  become 
great,  and  be  with  him  all  the  time  of  his  poverty  and  his 
struggles.  That  would  be  worth  something — to  comfort 
him  when  he  was  in  despair,  to  be  kind  to  him  when  he  was 
suffering  ;  and"  then,  when  it  was  all  over,  and  he  had  got 
his  head  above  these  troubles,  he  would  say  to  you,  '  Oh, 
Kate,  or  Nell,'  as  your  name  might  be,  '  how  good  you  were 
during  the  old  time  when  we  were  poor  and  friendless  ! ' 
But  when  he  has  become  a  hero,  he  thinks  he  will  overawe 
you  with  the  shadow  of  his  great  reputation.  He  thinks  he 
has  only  to  come,  and  hold  out  the  tips  of  his  fingers,  and 
say,  *  I  am  a  great  person.  Everybody  worships  me.  I 
will  allow  you  to  share  my  brilliant  fortune,  and  you  will 
dutifully  kiss  me.'  Merci,  monsieur  !  but  if  any  man  were 
to  come  to  me  like  that,  I  would  answer  him  as  Canning's 
knife-grinder  was  answered — '  I  give  you  kisses  ?  I  will  see 
you ' " 

"  Bell !  "  cried  my  Lady,  peremptorily. 

Bell  stopped,  and  then  blushed,  and  dropped  her  eyes. 

"  What  is  one  to  do,"  she  asked,  meekly,  "  when  a  quota- 
tion comes  in  ?  " 

"  You  used  toj>e  a  good  girl,"  remarked  Queen  Tita,  in  her 
severest  manner,  "  but  you  are  becoming  worse  and  worse 
every  day.  I  hear  you  sing  the  refrains  of  horrid  street 
songs.  Your  love  of  sitting  up  at  night  is  dreadful.  The 
very  maid-servants  are  shocked  by  your  wilful  provin- 
cialisms. And  you  treat  me,  for  whom  you  ought  to  show 
some  respect,  with  a  levity  and  familiarity  without  example. 
I  will  send  a  report  of  your  behaviour  to — 

And  here  the  look  of  mischief  in  Bell's  eyes — which  had 
been  deepening  just  as  you  may  see  the  pupil  of  a  cat 


6  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

widening  before  she  makes  a  spring — suddenly  gave  way  to 
a  glance  of  urgent  and  meek  entreaty,  which  was  recognised  in 
the  proper  quarter.  Tita  named  no  names  ;  and  the  storm 
blew  over. 

For  the  present,  therefore,  the  project  of  adding  this 
young  Uhlan  to  our  party  was  dropped  ;  but  the  idea  of  our 
northward  trip  remained,  and  gradually  assumed  definite 
consistency.  Indeed,  as  it  developed  itself  during  those 
long  winter  evenings,  it  came  to  be  a  thing  to  dream  about. 
But  all  the  same  I  could  see  that  Tita  sometimes  returned 
to  the  notion  of  providing  a  companion  for  Bell ;  and, 
whatever  may  have  been  her  dislike  of  the  Germans  in 
general,  Lieutenant  von  Rosen  was  not  forgotten.  At  odd 
times,  when 

"In  her  hazel  eyes  her  thoughts  lay  clear 
As  pebbles  in  a  brook," 

it  seemed  to  me  that  she  was  busy  with  those  forecasts  which 
are  dear  to  the  hearts  of  women.  One  night  we  three  were 
sitting  as  quietly  as  usual,  talking  about  something  else, 
when  she  suddenly  remarked — 

"  I  suppose  that  Count  von  Eosen  is  as  poor  as  Prussian 
lieutenants  generally  are  ?  " 

"  On  the  contrary,"  said  I,  "  he  enjoys  a  very  handsome 
FamiUen-Stiftung ,  or  family  bequest,  which  gives  him  a 
certain  sum  of  money  every  six  months,  on  condition  that 
during  that  time  he  has  either  travelled  so  much  or  gone 
through  such  and  such  a  course  of  study.  I  wish  the  legacies 
left  in  our  country  had  sometimes  those  provisions  attached." 

"  He  has  some  money,  then,"  said  my  Lady,  thoughtfully. 

"  My  dear,"  said  I,  "  you  seem  to  be  very  anxious  about 
the  future,  like  the  man  whose  letter  I  read  to  you  yester- 
day.* Have  you  any  further  questions  to  ask  ?  " 

*  This  is  the  letter  :— 

"  To  the  Editor  of  the  Hampshire  Ass. 

"  SIR, — If  the  Republicans  who  are  endeavouring  to  introduce  a 
.Republic  into  this  great  country  should  accomplish  their  disgusting 
purpose,  do  you  think  they  will  repudiate  the  National  Debt,  and  pay 
no  more  interest  on  the  Consols  ? 

"  I  am,  Sir, 

"  Your  obedient  Servant, 
"  BOGMEOE,  Jan.  18,  1871."  "  A  LOVER  OF  MANKIND. 


OF  A  PHAETON.  7 

"  I  suppose  he  cares  for  nothing  but  eating  and  drinking 
and  smoking,  like  other  officers  ?  He  has  not  been  troubled 
by  any  very  great  sentimental  crisis  ?  " 

"  On  the  contrary,"  I  repeated,  "  he  wrote  me  a  despairing 
letter,  some  fortnight  before  the  war  broke  out,  about 
that  same  Fraulein  Fallersleben  whom  we  saw  acting  in  the 
theatre  at  Hanover.  She  had  treated  him  very  badly— she 
had " 

"  Oh,  that  is  all  nothing,"  said  Tita  hastily — and  here  she 
glanced  rather  nervously  at  Bell. 

Bell,  for  her  part,  was  unconcernedly  fitting  a  pink  collar 
on  a  white  cat,  and  talking  to  that  pretty  but  unresponsive 
animal. 

"  He  left  her,"  I  remarked  again,  "  in  paroxysms  of  anger 
and  mutual  reproach.  He  accused  her  of  having " 

"Well,  well,  that  will  do,"  says  Queen  Titania,  in  her 
coldest  manner ;  and  then,  of  course,  everybody  obeys  the 
small  woman. 

That  was  the  last  that  was  heard  of  von  Rosen  for  many 
a  day  ;  and  it  was  not  until  some  time  after  the  war  was  over 
that  he  favoured  us  with  a  communication.  He  was  still 
in  France.  He  hoped  to  get  over  to  England  at  the  end  of 
July  ;  and  as  that  was  the  time  we  had  fixed  for  our  journey 
from  London  to  Edinburgh,  along  the  old  coach-roads,  he 
became  insensibly  mixed  up  with  the  project,  until  it  was 
finally  resolved  to  ask  him  to  join  the  party. 

"  I  know  you  mean  to  marry  those  two,"  I  said  to  the 
person  who  rules  over  us  all. 

"  How  absurd  you  are,"  she  replied,  with  a  vast  assump- 
tion of  dignity.  "Bell  is  as  good  as  engaged — even  if  there 
were  any  fear  of  a  handsome  young  Englishwoman  falling 
in  love  with  a  Prussian  lieutenant  who  is  in  despair  about 
an  actress." 

"  You  had  better  take  a  wedding-ring  with  you." 

"  A  wedding-ring  ! "  said  Tita,  with  a  little  curl  of  her 
lips.  "  You  fancy  that  a  girl  thinks  of  nothing  but  that. 
Every  wedding-ring  that  is  worn  represents  a  man's  imper- 
tinence and  a  woman's  folly." 

"Ask  Bell,"  said  I. 


THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 


CHAPTER   II. 

A   LUNCHEON   IN  HOLBORN. 

"From  the  bleak  coast  that  hears 
The  German  Ocean  roar,  deep-blooming,  strong, 
And  yellow-haired,  the  blue-eyed  Snxou  came." 

No  more  fitting  point  of  departure  could  have  been 
chosen  than  the  Old  Bell  Inn  in  Holborn,  an  ancient 
hostelry  which  used  in  bygone  times  to  send  its  relays  of 
stage-coaches  to  Oxford,  Cheltenham,  Enfield,  Abingdon, 
and  a  score  of  other  places.  Now,  from  the  quaint  little 
yard,  which  is  surrounded  by  frail  and  dilapidated  galleries 
of  wood  that  tell  of  the  grandeur  of  other  days,  there  starts 
but  a  solitary  omnibus,  which  daily  whisks  a  few  country 
people  and  their  parcels  down  to  Uxbridge,  and  Chalfont, 
and  Amersham,  and  "Wendover.  The  vehicle  which  Mr. 
Thoroughgood  has  driven  for  many  a  year  is  no  magnificent 
blue  and  scarlet  drag,  with  teams  costing  six  hundred 
guineas  apiece,  with  silver  harness,  a  post-boy  blowing  a 
silver  horn,  and  a  lord  handling  the  reins  ;  but  a  rough  and 
serviceable  little  coach  which  is  worked  for  profit,  and  which 
is  of  vast  convenience  to  the  folks  living  in  quiet  Buckingham- 
shire villages  apart  from  railways.  From  this  old-fashioned 
inn,  now  that  the  summer  had  come  round,  and  our  long- 
looked-for  journey  to  the  North  had  come  near,  we  had 
resolved  to  start  ;  and  Bell  having  gravely  pointed  out  the 
danger  of  letting  our  young  Uhlan  leave  London  hungry — lest 
habit  should  lead  him  to  seize  something  by  the  way,  and  so 
get  us  into  trouble — it  was  further  proposed  that  we  should 
celebrate  our  setting-out  with  a  luncheon  of  good  roast  beef 
and  ale,  in  the  snug  little  parlour  which  abuts  on  the  yard. 

"  And  I  hope,"  said  Queen  Titania,  as  we  escaped  from 
the  roar  of  Holborn  into  the  archway  of  the  inn,  "  that 
the  stupid  fellow  has  got  himself  decently  dressed.  Other- 
wise, we  shall  be  mobbed." 

The  fact  was  that  Count  von  Rosen,  not  being  aware  that 
English  officers  rarely  appear  in  uniform  when  off  duty,  had 
come  straight  from  St.  Denis  to  Calais,  and  from  Calais  to 


OF  A  PHAETON.  9 

London,  and  from  London  to  Leatherhead,  without  ever 
dreaming  that  he  ought  not  to  go  about  in  his  regimentals. 
He  drew  no  distinction  between  Herr  Graf  von  Eosen  and 
Seiner  Majestat  Lieutenant  im  — ten  Uhlanen-Eegimente  ; 
although  he  told  us  that  when  he  issued  from  his  hotel  at 
Charing  Cross  to  get  into  a  cab,  he  was  surprised  to  see 
a  small  crowd  collect  around  the  hansom,  and  no  less 
surprised  to  observe  the  absence  of  military  costume  in  the 
streets.  Of  course,  the  appearance  of  an  Uhlan  in  the  quiet 
village  of  Leatherhead  caused  a  profound  commotion  ;  and 
had  not  Castor  and  Pollux  been  able  to  distance  the  crowd 
of  little  boys  who  flocked  around  him  at  the  station,  it  is 
probable  he  would  have  arrived  at  our  house  attended  by 
that  concourse  of  admirers. 

You  should  have  seen  the  courteous  and  yet  half-defiant 
way  in  which  the  women  received  him,  as  if  they  were 
resolved  not  to  be  overawed  by  the  tall,  browned,  big- 
bearded  man  ;  and  how,  in  about  twenty  minutes,  they  had 
insensibly  got  quite  familiar  with  him,  apparently  won  over 
by  his  careless  laughter,  by  the  honest  stare  of  his  light-blue 
eyes,  and  by  a  very  boyish  blush  that  sometimes  overspread 
his  handsome  face  when  he  stammered  over  an  idiom,  or  was 
asked  some  question  about  his  own  exploits.  Bell  remained 
the  most  distant ;  but  I  could  see  that  our  future  companion 
had  produced  a  good  impression  on  my  Lady  ;  for  she  began 
to  take  the  management  of  him,  and  to  give  him  counsel  in 
a  minute  and  practical  manner,  which  is  a  sure  mark  of  her 
favour.  She  told  him  he  must  put  aside  his  uniform  while 
in  England.  She  described  to  him  the  ordinary  costume 
worn  by  English  gentlemen  in  travelling.  And  then  she 
hoped  he  would  take  a  preparation  of  quinine  with  him, 
considering  that  we  should  have  to  stay  in  a  succession  of 
strange  inns,  and  might  be  exposed  to  damp. 

He  went  up  to  London  that  night,  armed  with  a  list  of 
articles  which  he  was  to  buy  for  himself  before  starting 
with  us. 

There  was  a  long  pause  when  we  three  found  ourselves 
together  again.  At  length  Bell  said,  with  rather  an  im- 
patient air — 

"  He  is  only  a  schoolboy,  after  all.  Why  should  he  continue 
to  call  you  Madame,  and  me  Mademoiselle,  just  as  he  did 


io  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

when  lie  knew  us  first  at  Bonn,  and  gave  us  these  names  as 
a  joke  ?  Then  he  has  the  same  irritating  habit  of  laughing 
that  he  used  to  have  there.  I  hate  a  man  who  has  his  mouth 
always  open — like  a  swallow  in  the  air,  trying  to  catch  any- 
thing that  may  come.  And  he  is  worse,  I  think,  when  he 
closes  his  lips  and  tries  to  give  himself  an  intellectual  look, 
like— like " 

"  Like  what,  Bell  ?  " 

"  Like  a  calf  posing  itself,  and  trying  to  look  like  a  red 
deer,"  said  Bell  with  a  sort  of  contemptuous  warmth. 

"  I  wish,  Bell,"  said  my  Lady,  coldly  and  severely,  "  that 
you  would  give  up  those  rude  metaphors.  You  talk  just  as 
you  did  when  you  came  fresh  from  Westmoreland — you 
have  learnt  nothing." 

Bell's  only  answer  was  to  walk,  with  rather  a  proud  air,  to 
the  piano,  and  there  she  sat  down  and  played  a  few  bars. 
She  would  not  speak ;  but  the  familiar  old  air  spoke  for 
her  ;  for  it  said,  as  plain  as  words  could  say — 

"  A  North  Country  maid  up  to  London  had  strayed, 

Although  with  her  nature  it  did  not  agree  ; 
She  wept,  and  she  sighed,  and  she  bitterly  cried, 
*  I  wish  once  again  in  the  North  I  could  be ! '" 

"  I  think,"  continued  Tita,  in  measured  tones,  "  that  he  is 
a  very  agreeable  and  trustworthy  young  man — not  very 
polished,  perhaps  ;  but  then  he  is  a  German.  I  look 
forward  with  great  interest  to  see  in  what  light  our  English 
country  life  will  strike  him  ;  and  I  hope,  Bell,  that  he  will 
not  have  to  complain  of  the  want  of  courtesy  shown  him  by 
Englishwomen." 

This  was  getting  serious ;  so,  being  to  some  small  and 
undefined  extent  master  in  my  own  house,  I  commanded  Bell 
to  sing  the  song  she  was  petulantly  strumming.  That 
"  fetched  "  Tita.  Whenever  Bell  began  to  sing  one  of  those 
old  English  ballads,  which  she  did  for  the  most  part  from 
morning  till  night,  there  was  a  strange  and  tremulous  thrill 
in  her  voice  that  would  have  disarmed  her  bitterest  enemy  ; 
and  straightway  my  Lady  would  be  seen  to  draw  over  to  the 
girl,  and  put  her  arm  round  her  shoulder,  and  then  reward 
her,  when  the  last  chord  of  the  accompaniment  had  been 
struck,  with  a  grateful  kiss.  In  the  present  instance,  the 


OF  A  PHAETON.  11 

charm  worked  as  usual ;  but  no  sooner  had  these  two  young- 
people  been  reconciled  than  they  turned  on  their  common 
benefactor.  Indeed,  an  observant  stranger  might  have 
remarked  in  this  household,  that  when  anything  remotely 
bearing  on  a  quarrel  was  made  up  between  any  two  of  its 
members,  the  third,  the  peacemaker,  was  expected  to  pro- 
pose a  dinner  at  Greenwich.  The  custom  would  have  been 
more  becoming  had  the  cost  been  equally  distributed ;  but 
there  were  three  losers  to  one  payer. 

Well,  when  we  got  into  the  yard  of  the  Old  Bell,  the 
Buckinghamshire  omnibus  was  being  loaded  ;  and  among  the 
first  objects  we  saw  was  the  stalwart  figure  of  von  Rosen, 
who  was  talking  to  Mr.  Thoroughgood  as  if  he  had  known 
him  all  his  life,  and  examining  with  a  curious  and  critical 
eye  the  construction  and  accommodation  of  the  venerable 
old  vehicle.  We  saw  with  some  satisfaction  that  he  was  now 
dressed  in  a  suit  of  grey  garments,  with  a  wide-awake  hat  ; 
and,  indeed,  there  was  little  to  distinguish  him  from  an 
Englishman  but  the  curious  blending  of  colour — from  the 
tawny  yellow  of  his  moustache  to  the  deep  brown  of  his 
cropped  beard — which  is  seldom  absent  from  the  hirsute 
decoration  of  a  Prussian  face. 

He  came  forward  with  a  grave  and  ceremonious  politeness 
to  Queen  Titania,  who  received  him  in  her  dignified,  quaint, 
maternal  fashion  ;  and  he  shook  hands  with  Bell  with  an 
obviously  unconscious  air  of  indifference.  Then,  not  notic- 
ing her  silence,  he  talked  to  her,  after  we  had  gone  inside,  of 
the  old-fashioned  air  of  homeliness  and  comfort  noticeable 
in  the  inn,  of  the  ancient  portraits,  and  the  quaint  fireplace, 
and  the  small  busts  placed  about.  Bell  seemed  rather  vexed 
that  he  should  address  himself  to  her,  and  uttered  scarcely 
a  word  in  reply. 

But  when  our  plain  and  homely  meal  was  served,  this 
restraint  gradually  wore  av\'ay  ;  and  in  the  talk  over  our 
coming  adventures,  Bell  abandoned  herself  to  all  sorts  of 
wild  anticipations.  She  forgot  the  presence  of  the  German 
lieutenant.  Her  eyes  were  fixed  on  the  North  Country  ;  and 
on  summer  nights  up  amid  the  Westmoreland  hills  ;  and  on 
bright  mornings  up  by  the  side  of  the  Scotch  lochs ;  and 
while  the  young  soldier  looked  gravely  at  her,  and  even 
seemed  a  trifle  surprised,  she  told  us  of  all  the  dreams  and 


12  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

visions  she  had  had  of  the  journey,  for  weeks  and  months 
back,  and  how  the  pictures  of  it  had  been  with  her  night  and 
day  until  she  was  almost  afraid  the  reality  would  not  bear 
them  out.  Then  she  described — as  if  she  were  gifted  with 
second  sight — the  various  occupations  we  should  have  to 
follow  during  the  pleasant  afternoons  in  the  North ;  how 
she  had  brought  her  guitar  that  Queen  Titania  might  sing 
Spanish  songs  to  it  ;  how  we  should  listen  to  the  corn-crake  ; 
and  how  she  would  make  studies  of  all  the  favourite  places 
we  came  to  ;  and  perhaps  might  even  construct  a  picture  of 
our  phaeton  and  Castor  and  Pollux — with  a  background  of 
half-a-dozen  counties  • —  for  some  exhibition  ;  and  how, 
some  day  in  the  far  future,  when  the  memory  of  our  long 
excursion  had  grown  dim,  Tita  would  walk  into  a  room  in 
Pall  Mall,  and  there,  with  the  landscape  before  her,  would 
turn  round  with  wonder  in  her  eyes,  as  if  it  were  a  re- 
velation. 

"  Because,"  said  Bell,  turning  seriously  to  the  young 
Uhlan,  and  addressing  him  as  though  she  had  talked 
familiarly  to  him  for  years,  "you  mustn't  suppose  that 
our  Tita  is  anything  but  a  hypocrite.  All  her  coldness  and 
affectation  of  grandeur  are  only  a  pretence  ;  and  sometimes, 
if  you  watch  her  eyes — and  she  is  not  looking  at  you — you 
will  see  something  come  up  to  the  surface  of  them  as  if  it  were 
her  real  heart  and  soul  there,  looking  out  in  wonder  and  soft- 
ness at  some  beautiful  thing — just  like  a  dabchick,  you  know, 
when  you  are  watching  among  bushes  by  a  river,  and  are 
quite  still ;  and  then,  if  you  make  the  least  remark,  if 
you  rustle  your  dress,  snap  !  down  goes  the  dabchick,  and 
you  s.ee  nothing,  and  my  Lady  turns  to  you  quite  proudly 
and  coldly — though  there  may  be  tears  in  her  eyes — and 
dares  you  to  think  that  she  has  shown  any  emotion." 

"  That  is,  when  she  is  listening  to  you  singing  ?  "  said  the 
Lieutenant,  gravely  and  politely  ;  and  at  this  moment  Bell 
seemed  to  become  conscious  that  we  were  all  amused  by  her 
vehemence,  blushed  prodigiously,  and  was  barely  civil  to  our 
Uhlan  for  half  an  hour  after. 

Nevertheless,  she  had  every  reason  to  be  in  a  good 
humour ;  for  we  had  resolved  to  limit  our  travels  that 
day  to  Twickenham,  where,  in  the  evening,  Tita  was  to 
see  her  two  boys  who  were  at  school  there.  And  as  the 


OF  A  PHAETON.  13 

young  gentleman  of  the  Temple,  who  has  already  been 
briefly  mentioned  in  this  narrative,  is  a  son  of  the  school- 
master with  whom  the  boys  were  then  living,  and  as  he  was 
to  be  of  the  farewell  party  assembled  in  Twickenham  at 
night,  Bell  had  no  unpleasant  prospect  before  her  for  that 
day  at  least.  And  of  one  thing  she  was  probably  by  that 
time  thoroughly  assured  ;  no  fires  of  jealousy  were  in  danger 
of  being  kindled  in  any  sensitive  breast  by  the  manner  of 
Count  von  Rosen  towards  her.  Of  course  he  was  very 
courteous  and  obliging  to  a  pretty  young  woman  ;  but 
he  talked  almost  exclusively  to  my  Lady ;  while,  to  state 
the  plain  truth,  he  seemed  to  pay  more  attention  to  his 
luncheon  than  to  both  of  them  together. 

Behold,  then,  our  phaeton  ready  to  start !  The  pair  of 
pretty  bays  are  pawing  the  hard  stones  and  pricking  their 
ears  at  the  unaccustomed  sounds  of  Holborn  ;  Sandy  is  at 
their  head,  regarding  them  rather  dolefully,  as  if  he  feared 
to  let  them  slip  from  his  care  to  undertake  so  long  and 
perilous  a  journey  ;  Queen  Titania  has  arranged  that  she 
shall  sit  behind,  to  show  the  young  Prussian  all  the  remark- 
able things  on  our  route  ;  and  Bell,  as  she  gets  up  in  front, 
begs  to  have  the  reins  given  her  so  soon  as  we  get  away  from 
the  crowded  thoroughfares.  There  are  still  a  few  loiterers 
on  the  pavement  who  had  assembled  to  see  the  Wendover 
omnibus  leave  ;  and  these  regard  with  a  languid  sort  of 
curiosity  the  setting-out  of  the  party  in  the  big  dark- 
green  phaeton. 

A  little  tossing  of  heads  and  prancing,  a  little  adjustment 
of  the  reins,  a  final  look  round,  and  then  we  glide  into 
the  wild  and  roaring  stream  of  vehicles — that  mighty 
current  of  rolling  vans,  and  heavy  waggons,  and  crowded 
Bayswater  omnibuses,  of  dexterous  hansoms  and  indolent 
four-wheelers,  of  brewers'  drays  and  post-office  carts  and 
costermongers'  barrows.  Over  the  great  thoroughfare,  with 
its  quaint  and  huddled  houses  and  its  innumerable  shops, 
dwell  soft  and  still  masses  of  cloud  that  seem  oddly  dis- 
coloured. The  sky,  seen  through  a  curious  pall  of  mist  and 
smoke,  is  only  grey ;  and  the  clouds  are  distant  and  dusky 
and  yellow,  like  those  of  an  old  landscape  that  has  lain  for 
years  in  a  broker's  shop.  Yet  there  is  a  faint  glow  of  sun- 
light shining  along  the  houses  on  the  northern  side  of  the 


14  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

street ;  and  here  and  there  the  window  of  some  lobster-shop 
or  tavern  glints  back  the  light.  As  we  get  westward,  the 
blue  overhead  becomes  clearer ;  and  the  character  of  the 
thoroughfare  alters.  Here  we  are  at  the  street  leading  up  to 
the  British  Museum — a  Mudie  and  a  Moses  on  each  hand — 
and  it  would  almost  seem  as  if  the  Museum  had  sent  out  rays 
of  influence  to  create  around  it  a  series  of  smaller  collections. 
In  place  of  the  humble  fishmonger  and  the  familiar  hosier, 
we  have  owners  of  large  windows  filled  with  curious  treasures 
of  art — old-fashioned  jewellery,  china,  knick-knacks  of 
furniture,  silver  spoons  and  kettles,  and  stately  portraits  of 
the  time  of  Charles  II.,  in  which  the  women  have  all  beaded 
black  eyes,  yellow  curls,  and  a  false  complexion,  while  the 
men  are  fat,  pompous,  and  wigged.  Westward  still,  and  we 
approach  the  huge  shops  and  warehouses  of  Oxford  Street, 
where  the  last  waves  of  fashionable  life,  seeking  millinery, 
beat  on  the  eastern  barriers  that  shut  out  the  rest  of  London. 
Regent  Street  is  busy  on  this  quiet  afternoon ;  and  Bell  asks 
in  a  whisper  whether  the  countryman  of  Blticher,  now  sitting 
behind  us,  does  not  betray  in  his  eyes  what  he  thinks  of  this 
vast  show  of  wealth.  Listening  for  a  moment,  we  hear  that 
Queen  Titania,  instead  of  talking  to  him  about  the  shops,  is 
trying  to  tell  him  what  London  was  in  the  last  century  ;  and 
how  Colonel  Jack  and  his  associates,  before  that  enterprising 
youth  started  to  walk  from  London  to  Edinburgh  to  avoid 
the  law,  used  to  waylay  travellers  in  the  fields  between 
Gray's  Inn  and  St.  Pancras  ;  and  how,  having  robbed  a 
coach  between  Hyde  Park  G-ate  and  Knightsbridge,  they 
"went  over  the  fields  to  Chelsea."  This  display  of  erudition 
on  the  part  of  my  Lady  has  evidently  been  prepared  before- 
hand ;  for  she  even  goes  the  length  of  quoting  dates  and 
furnishing  a  few  statistics — a  thing  which  no  woman  does 
inadvertently.  However,  when  we  get  into  Pall  Mall,  her 
ignorance  of  the  names  of  the  clubs  reveals  the  superficial 
nature  of  her  acquirements  ;  for  even  Bell  is  able  to  recog- 
nize the  Reform,  assisted,  doubtless,  by  the  polished  pillars 
of  the  Carlton.  The  women  are,  of  course,  eager  to  know 
which  is  the  Prince  of  Wales's  Club  ;  and  afterwards  look 
with  quite  a  peculiar  interest  on  the  brick  wall  of  Marl- 
borough  House. 

"  Now,"  says  our  Bonny  Bell,  as  we  get  into  the  quiet 


OF  A  PHAETON.  15 

of  St.  James's  Park,  where  the  trees  in  the  Mall  and  the 
shrubbery  around  the  water  look  quite  pleasant  and 
fresh  even  under  the  misty  London  sunlight ;  "  now  you 
must  let  me  have  the  reins.  I  am  wearying  to  get  away 
from  the  houses,  and  be  really  on  the  road  to  Scotland. 
Indeed,  I  shall  not  feel  that  we  have  actually  set  out  until 
we  leave  Twickenham,  and  are  fairly  on  the  old  coach-road 
at  Hounslow." 

I  looked  at  Bell.  She  did  not  blush  ;  but  calmly  waited 
to  take  the  reins.  I  had  then  to  point  out  to  the  young 
hypocrite  that  her  wiles  were  of  no  avail.  She  was  not 
anxious  to  be  beyond  Twickenham  ;  she  was  chiefly  anxious 
to  get  down  thither.  Notwithstanding  that  she  knew  we 
had  chosen  a  capricious  and  roundabout  road  to  reach  this 
•  first  stage  on  our  journey,  merely  to  show  von  Eosen  some- 
thing of  London  and  its  suburban  beauties,  she  was  looking 
with  impatience  to  the  long  circuit  by  Clapham  Common, 
Wimbledon,  and  Richmond  Park.  Therefore  she  was  not 
in  a  condition  to  be  entrusted  with  the  safety  of  so  valuable 
a  freight. 

"  I  am  not  impatient,"  said  Bell,  with  her  colour  a  trifle 
heightened  :  "  I  do  not  care  whether  we  ever  get  to 
Twickenham.  I  would  as  soon  go  on  to  Henley  to-night,  and 
to-moiTow  to  Oxford.  But  it  is  just  like  a  man  to  make  a 
great  bother  and  go  in  prodigious  circles  to  reach  a  trifling 
distance.  You  go  circling  and  circling  like  the  minute-hand 
of  a  clock ;  but  the  small  hand,  that  takes  it  easy,  and 
makes  no  clatter  of  ticking,  finds  at  twelve  o'clock  that  it 
has  got  quite  as  far  as  its  big  companion." 

"  This,  Bell,"  I  remarked,  "  is  impertinence." 

"  Will  you  give  me  the  reins  ?  " 

"No." 

Bell  turned  half  round,  and  leaned  her  arm  on  the  lowered 
hood. 

"  My  dear,"  she  said  to  Queen  Titania — who  had  been 
telling  the  Count  something  about  Buckingham  Palace — 
"  we  have  forgotten  one  thing.  What  are  we  to  do  when 
our  companions  are  disagreeable  during  the  day  ?  In  the 
evening  we  can  read,  or  sing,  or  walk  about  by  ourselves. 
But  during  the  day,  Tita  ?  When  we  are  imprisoned,  how 
are  we  to  escape  ?  " 


16  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES  t 

"  We  shall  put  you  in  the  imperial,  if  you  are  not  a  good 
girl,"  said  my  Lady,  with  a  gracious  sweetness ;  and  then 
she  turned  to  the  Count. 

It  would  have  been  cruel  to  laugh  at  Bell.  For  a  minute 
or  two  after  meeting  with  this  rebuff,  she  turned  rather 
away  from  us,  and  stared  with  a  fine  assumption  of  proud 
indifference  down  the  Yauxhall  Bridge  Road.  But  presently 
a  lurking  smile  began  to  appear  about  the  corners  of  her 
mouth  ;  and  at  last  she  cried  out — 

"  Well,  there  is  no  use  quarrelling  with  a  married  man  ;  for 
he  never  pets  you.  He  is  familiar  with  the  trick  of  it,  I 
suppose  ;  and  looks  on  like  an  old  juggler  watching  the 
efforts  of  an  amateur.  See  !  how  lovely  the  river  is  up 
there  by  Chelsea — the  long  reach  of  rippling  grey,  the  green 
of  the  trees,  and  the  curious  silvery  light  that  almost  hides 
the  heights  beyond.  We  shall  see  the  Thames  often,  shall 
we  not  ?  and  then  the  Severn,  and  then  the  Solway,  and 
then  the  great  Frith  of  the  Forth  ?  When  I  think  of  it,  I 
feel  like  a  bird — a  lark  fluttering  up  in  happiness — and 
seeing  farther  and  farther  every  minute.  To  see  the  Solway, 
you  know,  you  have  to  be  up  almost  in  the  blue  ;  and  then 
all  around  you  there  lies  the  wide  plain  of  England,  with 
fields,  and  woods,  and  streams.  Fancy  being  able  to  see  as 
far  as  a  vulture  ;  and  to  go  swooping  on  for  leagues  and 
leagues — now  up  amid  white  peaks  of  snow — or  down 
through  some  great  valley — or  across  the  sea  in  the  sunset. 
And  only  fancy  that  some  evening  you  might  find  the 
spectral  ship  beginning  to  appear  in  pale  fire  in  the  mist  of 
the  horizon — coming  on  towards  you  without  a  sound — do 
you  know,  that  is  the  most  terrible  legend  ever  thought 
of ! " 

"  What  has  a  vulture  to  do  with  the  Flying  Dutchman  ?  " 
said  Queen  Tita  suddenly  ;  and  Bell  turned  with  a  start 
to  find  her  friend's  head  close  to  her  own.  "You  are 
becoming  incoherent,  Bell,  and  your  eyes  are  as  wild  as  if 
you  were  really  looking  at  the  phantom  ship.  Why  are  you 
not  driving  ?  " 

"  Because  I  am  not  allowed,"  said  Bell. 

However,  when  we  got  into  the  Clapham  Road,  Bell  had 
her  wish.  She  took  her  place  with  the  air  of  a  practised 
whip  ;  and  did  not  even  betray  any  nervousness  when  a 


OF  A  PHAETON.  17 

sudden  whistle  behind  us  warned  her  that  she  was  in  the 
way  of  a  tram-car.  Moreover,  she  managed  to  subdue  so 
successfully  her  impatience  to  get  to  Twickenham,  that  she 
was  able  to  take  us  in  the  gentlest  manner  possible  up  and 
across  Clapham  Common,  down  through  Wandsworth,  and 
up  again  towards  Wimbledon.  When,  at  length,  we  got  to 
the  brow  of  the  hill  that  overlooks  the  long  and  undulating 
stretches  of  furze,  the  admiration  of  our  Prussian  friend, 
which  had  been  called  forth  by  the  various  parks  and  open 
spaces  in  and  around  London,  almost  rose  to  the  pitch  of 
enthusiasm. 

"  Is  it  the  sea  down  there,  yes  ?  "  he  asked,  looking 
towards  the  distant  tent-poles,  which  certainly  resembled  a 
small  forest  of  masts  in  the  haze  of  the  sunshine.  "  It  is 
not  the  sea  ?  I  almost  expect  to  reach  the  shore  always  in 
England.  Yet  why  have  you  so  beautiful  places  like  this 
around  London — so  much  more  beautiful  than  the  sandy 
country  around  our  Berlin — and  no  one  to  come  to  it  ? 
You  have  more  than  three  millions  of  people — here  is  a 
playground — -why  do  they  not  come  ?  And  Clapham 
Common  top,  it  is  not  used  for  people  to  walk  in,  as  we 
should  use  it  in  Germany,  and  have  a  pleasant  seat  in  a 
garden,  and  the  women  sewing  until  their  husbands  and 
friends  come  in  the  evening,  and  music  to  make  it  cheerful 
afterwards.  It  is  nothing — a  waste — -a  landscape — very 
beautiful — but  not  used.  You  have  children  on  donkeys, 
and  boys  playing  their  games — that  is  very  good — but  it  is 
not  enough.  And  here,  this  beautiful  park,  all  thrown  away 
— no  one  here  at  all.  Why  does  not  your  Lord  Mayor  see 
the — the  requirement — of  drawing  away  large  numbers  of 
people  from  so  big  a  town  for  fresh  air ;  and  make  here 
some  amusements  ? " 

"  Consider  the  people  who  live  all  around,"  said  my  Lady, 
"  and  what  they  would  have  to  suffer." 

"  Suffer  !  "  said  the  young  Prussian,  with  his  eyes  staring  ; 
"  I  do  not  understand  you.  For  people  to  walk  through 
gardens,  and  smoke,  and  drink  a  glass  or  two  of  beer,  or  sit 
under  the  trees  and  sew  or  read — surely  that  is  not  offensive 
to  any  person  ?  And  here  the  houses  are  miles  away — you 
cannot  see  them  down  beyond  the  windmill  there." 

"  Did  you  ever  hear  of  such  things  as  manorial  rights,  and 

0 


i8  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

freeholders,  and  copyholders,  and  the  Statute  of  Merton  ?  " 
he  is  asked. 

"  All  that  is  nothing — a  fiction,"  he  retorted.  "  You  have 
a  Government  in  this  country  representing  the  people  ;  why 
not  take  all  these  commons  and  use  them  for  the  people  ? 
And  if  the  Government  has  not  courage  to  do  that,  why  do 
not  your  municipalities,  which  are  rich,  buy  up  the  land,  and 
provide  amusements,  and  draw  the  people  into  the  open  air  ?  " 

Queen  Tita  could  scarce  believe  her  ears  on  hearing 
a  Prussian  aristocrat  talk  thus  coolly  of  confiscation,  and  ex- 
hibit no  more  reverence  for  the  traditional  rights  of  property 
than  if  he  were  a  Parisian  socialist.  But  then  these  boys  of 
twenty-five  will  dance  over  the  world's  edge  in  pursuit  of  a 
heory. 

Here,  too,  as  Bell  gently  urged  our  horses  forward 
towards  the  crest  of  the  slope  leading  down  to  Baveley 
Bridge,  von  Rosen  got  his  first  introduction  to  an  English 
landscape.  All  around  him  lay  the  brown  stretches  of  sand 
and  the  blue-green  clumps  of  furze  of  the  common  ;  on  each 
side  of  the  wide  and  well-made  road,  the  tall  banks  were 
laden  with  a  tangled  luxuriance  of  brushwood  and  bramble 
and  wild-flowers  ;  down  in  the  hollow  beneath  us  there  were 
red-tiled  farm-buildings  half  hid  in  a  green  maze  of  elms 
and  poplars  ;  then  the  scattered  and  irregular  fields  and 
meadows,  scored  with  hedges  and  dotted  with  houses,  led  up 
to  a  series  of  heights  that  were  wooded  with  every  variety  of 
forest  tree  ;  while  over  all  these  undulations  there  lay  that 
faint  presence  of  mist  which  only  served  to  soften  the  glow 
of  the  afternoon  sunshine,  and  to  show  us  the  strong  colours 
of  the  picture  through  a  veil  of  tender  ethereal  grey. 

We  go  down  the  hill,  and  roll  along  the  valley. 

"This  is  the  Robin  Hood  Gate,"  says  Queen  Tita. 
"  Have  you  heard  of  Robin  Hood,  Count  von  Rosen  ?  " 

"  Oh  yes.  He  was  one  of  those  picturesque  men  that  we 
have  many  of  in  our  German  stories.  We  like  huntsmen, 
outlaws,  and  such  people  ;  and  the  German  boys,  they  do 
know  of  Robin  Hood  as  much  as  of  William  Tell." 

"  But  then,  you  know,"  says  Tita,  gravely,  "  Robin  Hood 
was  a  real  person." 

"  And  was  not  William  Tell  ?  " 

"  They  say  not." 


OF  A  PHAETON.  19 

The  Lieutenant  laughed. 

"  Madame,"  he  said, "  I  did  not  know  you  were  so  learned. 
But  if  there  was  no  William  Tell,  are  you  sure  thsre  was  any 
Robin  Hood  ?  " 

"  Oh,  yes,  I  am  quite  sure,"  said  my  Lady,  earnestly ; 
which  closed  this  chapter  of  profound  historical  criticism. 

Richmond  Park,  in  the  stillness  of  a  fine  sunset,  was 
worth  bringing  a  foreigner  to  see.  The  ruddy  light  from 
the  west  was  striking  here  and  there  among  the  glades  under 
the  oaks  ;  across  the  bars  of  radiance  and  shadow  the  hand- 
some little  bucks  and  long-necked  does  were  lightly  passing 
and  repassing ;  while  there  were  rabbits  in  thousands 
trotting  in  and  about  the  brackens  ;  with  an  occasional  covey 
of  young  partridges  alternately  regarding  us  with  up- 
stretched  necks  and  then  running  off  a  few  yards  further. 
But  after  we  had  bowled  along  the  smooth  and  level  road, 
up  and  through  the  avenues  of  stately  oaks,  past  the  small 
lakes  (one  of  them,  beyond  the  shadow  of  a  dark  wood, 
gleamed  like  a  line  of  gold),  and  on  to  the  summit  of  Rich- 
mond Hill,  Queen  Titania  had  not  a  word  to  say  further 
in  pointing  out  the  beauties  of  the  place.  She  had  been 
officiating  as  conductor  ;  and  with  something  of  the  air  of  a 
proprietress.  Now,  as  we  stopped  the  phaeton  on  the  crest 
of  the  hill,  she  was  silent. 

Far  away  behind  us  lay  the  cold  green  of  the  eastern  sky  ; 
and  under  it  the  smoke  of  London  lay  red  and  brown  ;  while 
in  the  extreme  distance  we  could  see  dim  traces  of  houses, 
and  down  in  the  south  a  faint  rosy  mist.  Some  glittering 
yellow  rays  showed  us  where  the  Crystal  Palace,  high  over 
the  purple  shadows  of  Sydenham,  caught  the  sunlight ;  and 
up  by  Notting  Hill,  too,  there  were  one  or  two  less  distinct 
glimmerings  of  glass.  But  when  we  turned  to  the  west,  no 
such  range  of  vision  was  permitted  to  us.  All  over  the  bed 
of  the  river  there  lay  across  the  western  sky  a  confusion 
of  pale  gold  :  not  a  distinct  sunset,  with  sharp  lines  of 
orange  and  blood-red  fire,  but  a  bewildering  haze  that 
blinded  the  eyes  and  was  rather  ominous  for  the  morrow. 
Along  the  horizon, 

"where,  enthroned  in  adamantine  state, 
Proud  of  her  bards,  imperial  Windsor  sits," 

r   9 


20  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

there  was  no  trace  of  the  grey  towers  to  be  made  out 
rising  from  the  dusky  blue  into  that  radiant  glow. 
Nearer  at  hand,  the  spacious  and  wooded  landscape  seemed 
almost  dark  under  the  glare  of  the  sky  ;  and  the  broad 
windings  of  the  Thames  lay  white  and  clear  between  the  soft 
green  of  the  Twickenham  shores  and  the  leafy  masses  of 
"umbrageous  Ham." 

"  Doesn't  it  seem  as  though  the  strange  light  out  there 
in  the  west  lay  over  some  unknown  country,"  said  Bell, 
with  her  eyes  filled  with  the  glamour  of  the  sunset,  "  and 
that  to-morrow  we  were  to  begin  our  journey  into  a  great 
prairie,  and  leave  houses  and  people  for  ever  behind  us  ? 
You  can  see  no  more  villages  ;  but  only  miles  and  miles  of 
woods  and  plains ;  until  you  come  to  a  sort  of  silver  mist, 
and  that  might  be  the  sea." 

"  And  a  certain  young  lady  stands  on  the  edge  of  this  wild 
and  golden  desert,  and  a  melancholy  look  comes  into  her 
eyes.  For  she  is  fond  of  houses  and  her  fellow-creatures  ; 
and  here,  just  close  at  hand — down  there,  in  Twickenham, 
in  fact — there  is  a  comfortable  dining-room  and  some 
pleasant  friends,  and  one  attentive  person  in  particular, 
who  is  perhaps  a  little  sorry  to  bid  her  good-bye.  Yet  she 
does  not  falter.  To-morrow  morning  she  will  hold  out  her 
hand — a  tender  and  wistful  smile  will  only  half  convey  her 

sadness " 

Here  Bell  rapidly  but  lightly  touched  Pollux  with  the 
whip  ;  both  the  horses  sprang  forward  with  a  jerk  that  had 
nearly  thrown  the  Lieutenant  into  the  road  (for  he  was 
standing  up  and  holding  on  by  the  hood)  ;  and  then,  without 
another  word,  she  rattled  us  down  into  Richmond.  Getting 
sharply  round  the  corner,  she  pretty  nearly  had  a  wheel  taken 
off  by  the  omnibus  that  was  standing  in  front  of  the  King's 
Head ;  and  just  escaped  knocking  down  a  youth  in  white 
costume  and  boating  shoes,  who  jumped  back  on  the  pave- 
ment with  an  admirable  dexterity.  Nor  would  she  stop  to 
give  us  a  look  at  the  Thames  from  the  bridge — we  only 
caught  a  glimpse  of  the  broad  bend  of  the  water,  the  various 
boats  and  their  white-clad  crews,  the  pleasant  river-paths, 
and  the  green  and  wooded  heights  all  around.  She  swept 
us  on  along  the  road  leading  into  Twickenham ;  past  the 
abodes  of  the  Orleanist  Princes  ;  and  into  the  narrow  streets 


OF  A  PHAETON.  li 

of  the  village  itself  ;  until,  with  a  proud  and  defiant  air,  she 
pulled  the  horses  up  in  front  of  Dr.  Ashburton's  house. 

There  was  a  young  man  at  the  window.  She  pretended 
not  to  see  him. 

When  the  servants  had  partly  got  our  luggage  out,  the 
young  man  made  his  appearance  ;  and  came  forward,  in 
rather  a  frightened  way,  as  I  thought,  to  pay  his  respects 
to  Queen  Tita  and  Bell.  Then  he  glanced  at  the  Uhlan, 
who  was  carefully  examining  the  horses'  fetlocks  and  hoofs. 
Finally,  as  the  Doctor  had  no  stables,  Master  Arthur  in- 
formed us  that  he  had  made  arrangements  about  putting 
up  the  horses  ;  and  while  the  rest  of  us  went  into  the  house, 
he  volunteered  to  take  the  phaeton  round  to  the  inn.  He 
and  the  Count  went  off  together. 

Then  there  was  a  wild  commotion  on  the  first  landing,  a 
confused  tumble  and  rush  down  stairs,  and  presently  Bell 
and  Tita  were  catching  up  two  boys,  and  hugging  them, 
and  pulling  out  all  sorts  of  mysterious  presents. 

"  Heh  !  how  fens  tee,  Jeck  ?  gaily  ?  "  cried  Auntie  Bell, 
whose  broad  Cumberlandshire  vastly  delighted  the  young- 
sters. "  Why,  Twom,  thou's  growin'  a  big  lad, — thou  mud 
as  weel  be  a  sodger  as  at  schuil.  Can  tee  dance  a  whorn- 
pipe  yet  ? — what,  nowther  o'  ye  ?  Dost  think  I's  gaun  to 
gie  a  siller  watch  to  twa  feckless  fallows  that  canna  dance  a 
whornpipe  ?  " 

But  here  Bell's  mouth  was  stopped  by  a  multitude  of 
kisses  ;  and,  having  had  to  confess  that  the  two  silver 
watches  were  really  in  her  pocket,  she  was  drawn  into  the 
parlour  by  the  two  boys,  and  made  to  stand  and  deliver. 


CHAPTER  III. 

EUGEN,   DER  EDLE  BITTER." 

"What  can  Tommy  Onslow  do? 
He  can  drive  a  phaeton  and  two. 
Can  Tommy  Onslow  do  no  more?" 

MEANWHILE,  what  had  become  of  the  Lieutenant,  and 
Arthur,  and  Castor  and  Pollux,  to*  say  nothing  of  the 
phaeton,  which  had  now  been  transferred  from  its  accus- 
tomed home  in  Surrey  to  spend  a  night  under  a  shed  in 


22  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

Twickenham  ?  The  crooked  by-ways  and  narrow  streets  of 
that  curious  little  village  were  getting  rapidly  darker  under 
the  falling  dusk,  and  here  and  there  orange  lamps  were 
beginning  to  shine  in  the  blue-grey  of  the  twilight,  when  I 
set  out  to  discover  the  stable  to  which  our  horses  had  been 
confided.  I  had  got  but  half-way  to  the  public-house,  when 
I  met  Arthur.  The  ordinarily  mild  and  gentle  face  of  this 
young  man — which  would  be  quite  feminine  in  character, 
but  for  a  soft,  pale-yellow  moustache — looked  rather 
gloomy. 

"  Where  is  the  Count  ?  "  I  asked  of  him. 

"  Do  you  mean  that  German  fellow  ?  "  he  said. 

The  poor  young  man  !  It  was  easy  to  detect  the  cause 
of  the  half-angry  contempt  with  which  he  spoke  of  our 
Lieutenant.  It  was  jealousy  with  its  green  eyes  and  dark 
imaginings ;  and  the  evening,  I  could  see,  promised  us  a 
pretty  spectacle  of  the  farce  of  Bell  and  the  Dragon.  At 
present  I  merely  requested  Master  Arthur  to  answer  my 
question. 

"  Well,"  said  he,  with  a  fine  expression  of  irony — the  un- 
happy wretch  !  as  if  it  were  not  quite  obvious  that  he  was 
more  inclined  to  cry — "  if  you  want  to  keep  him  out  of  the 

police-office,  you'd  better  go  down  to  the  stables  of  the . 

He  has  raised  a  pretty  quarrel  there,  I  can  tell  you — kicked 
the  ostler  half  across  the  yard — knocked  heaps  of  things  to 
smithereens — and  is  ordering  everybody  about,  and  fuming 
and  swearing  in  a  dozen  different  inarticulate  languages. 
I  wish  you  joy  of  your  companion  !  You  will  have  plenty 
of  adventures  by  the  way  ;  but  what  will  you  do  with  all  the 
clocks  you  gather  ?  " 

"  Go  home,  you  stupid  boy,  and  thank  God  you  have  not 
the  gift  of  sarcasm.  Bell  is  waiting  for  you.  You  will 
talk  very  sensibly  to  her,  I  daresay  ;  but  don't  make  any 
jokes — not  for  some  years  to  come." 

Arthur  went  his  way  into  the  twilight,  as  wretched  a 
young  man  as  there  was  that  evening  in  Twickenham. 

Now  in  front  of  the  public-house,  and  adjoining  the 
entrance  into  the  yard,  a  small  and  excited  crowd  had 
collected  of  all  the  idlers  and  loungers  who  hang  about  the 
doors  of  a  tavern.  In  the  middle  of  them — as  you  could 
see  when  the  yellow  light  from  the  window  streamed  through 


OF  A  PHAETON.  23 

a  chink  in  the  cluster  of  human  figures — there  was  a  small, 
square-set,  bandy-legged  man,  with  a  red  waistcoat,  a  cropped 
head,  and  a  peaked  cap,  with  the  peak  turned  sideways. 
He  was  addressing  his  companions  in  an  odd  mixture  of 
Buckinghamshire  dialect  and  Middlesex  pronunciation, 
somewhat  in  this  fashion  : — 

"  I  baint  afeard  of  'rn,  or  any  other  darned  furrener,  the 

— -.  An'  I've  looked  arter  awsses  afore  he  wur  born,  and 
I'd  like  to  see  the  mahn  as  '11  tell  me  what  I  don't  know 
about  'm.  I've  kept  my  plaace  for  fifteen  yur,  and  I'll  bet 
the  coot  on  my  bahck  as  my  missis  '11  say,  there  niver  wur 

a  better  in  the  plaace  ;  an'  as  fur  thaht furrener  in  there, 

the  law  '11  teach  him  summut,  or  I'm  werry  much  mistaken. 
Eh,  Any  ?  Bain't  I  right  ?  " 

This  impassioned  appeal  from  the  excited  small  man  was 
followed  by  a  general  chorus  of  assent. 

I  made  my  way  down  the  yard,  between  the  shafts  of 
dog-carts  and  the  poles  of  disabled  omnibuses  that  loomed 
from  out  the  darkness  of  a  long  and  low  shed.  At  the 
foot  of  this  narrow  and  dusky  channel  a  stable-door  was 
open ;  and  the  faint  yellow  light  occasionally  caught  the 
figure  of  a  man  who  was  busy  grooming  a  horse  outside. 
As  I  picked  my  way  over  the  rough  stones,  I  could  hear  that 
he  was  occasionally  interrupting  the  hissing  noise  peculiar  to 
the  work  with  a  snatch  of  a  song,  carelessly  sung  in  a  deep 
and  sufficiently  powerful  voice.  What  was  it  he  sang  ? 

"  Prim  E-ugen,  der  edle  Ritter hisssssss wolW  clem 

Kaiser  wiedrum  Jcriegen wo  !  my  beauty — so  ho  ! • 

Stadtund  Festung  Belgarad  ! hold  up,  my  lad  !  wo  ho  !  " 

"  Hillo,  Oswald,  what  are  you  about  ?  " 

"  Oh,  only  looking  after  the  horses,"  said  our  young 
Ublan,  slowly  raising  himself  up. 

He  was  in  a  remarkable  state  of  undress — his  coat,  waist- 
'coat,  and  collar  having  been  thrown  on  the  straw  inside  the 
stable — and  he  held  in  his  hand  a  brush. 

"  The  fellows  at  this  inn  they  are  very  ignorant  of  horses, 
or  very  careless." 

"  I  hear  you  have  been  kicking  'em  all  about  the  place." 

"  Why  not  ?  You  go  in  to  have  a  glass  of  beer  and  see 
the  people.  You  come  back  to  the  stables.  The  man  says 
he  has  fed  the  horses — it  is  a  lie.  He  says  he  has  groomed 


24  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

them— it  is  a  lie.  Jott  im  Himmel  !  can  I  not  see  ?  Then 
I  drive  him  away — I  take  out  corn  for  myself,  also  some 
beans — he  comes  back — he  is  insolent — I  fling  him  into  the 
yard — he  falls  over  the  pail — he  lies  and  groans — that  is 
very  good  for  him  ;  it  will  teach  him  to  mind  his  business, 
not  to  tell  lies,  and  to  steal  the  price  of  the  corn." 

I  pointed  out  to  this  cool  young  person  that  if  he  went 
kicking  insolent  ostlers  all  over  the  country,  he  would  get  us 
into  trouble. 

"Is  it  not  a  shame  they  do  not  know  their  work  ? — and 
that  they  will  ruin  good  horses  to  steal  a  sixpence  from 
you,  yes  ?  " 

" Besides,"  I  said,  "it  is  not  prudent  to  quarrel  with  an 
ostler,  for  you  must  leave  your  horses  under  his  care  :  and 
if  he  should  be  ill-natured,  he  may  do  them  a  mischief 
during  the  night." 

The  Count  laughed,  as  he  untied  the  halter  and  led  Pollox 
into  a  loose  box. 

"  Do  not  be  alarmed.  I  never  allow  any  man  to  lock  up 
my  horses  if  I  am  among  strangers.  I  do  that  myself.  I 
will  lock  up  this  place  and  take  the  key,  and  to-morrow  at 
six  I  will  come  round  and  see  them  fed.  No  !  you  must  not 
object.  It  is  a  great  pleasure  of  mine  to  look  after  horses, 
and  I  shall  become  friends  with  these  two  in  a  very  few  days. 
You  must  let  me  manage  them  always." 

"  And  groom  them  twice  a  day  ?  " 

"  Nee,  Jott  lewahre  !  When  there  is  a  man  who  can  do 
it,  I  will  not ;  but  when  there  is  no  one  it  is  a  very  good 
thing  to  help  yourself." 

Lieutenant  Oswald  von  Rosen  had  already  learned  how  to 
conjugate  the  verb  requiriren  during  his  sojourn  in  Bohemia 
and  in  France.  He  made  another  raid  on  the  corn  and  split 
beans  ;  got  up  into  the  loft,  and  crammed  down  plenty  of 
hay  ;  and  then  bringing  a  heap  of  clean  straw  into  the  place, 
tossed  it  plentifully  about  the  loose  box  devoted  to  Pollux, 
and  about  Castor's  stall.  Finally  he  put  on  his  upper  vest- 
ments, brought  away  the  candle,  locked  the  door,  and  put 
the  key  in  his  pocket,  humming  all  the  time  something  about 
"  die  dreimal  hunderttausend  Mann." 

When  we  had  got  to  the  gate  of  the  yard,  he  stalked  up 
to  the  small  crowd  of  idlers,  and  said — - 


OF  A  PHAETON.  25 

"  Which  of  you  is  the  man  who  did  tumble  over  the  pail  ? 
Is  it  you,  you  little  fellow  ?  Well,  you  deserve  much  more 
than  you  got,  yes  ;  but  here  is  a  half-crown  for  you  to  buy 
sticking-plaster  with." 

The  small  ostler  held  back  ;  but  his  companions,  who 
perceived  that  the  half-crown  meant  beer,  urged  him  to 
go  forward  and  take  it ;  which  he  did,  saying — 

"  Well,  I  doan't  bear  no  malice." 

"  And  next  time  that  you  have  gentlemen's  horses  put 
into  your  stables,  don't  try  to  steal  the  price  of  their  corn," 
said  the  Lieutenant ;  and  with  that  he  turned  and  walked 
away. 

"  Now  tell  me  who  it  was  did  come  with  me,"  continued 
my  young  friend,  as  we  went  back  to  the  house  ;  "  he  is  a 
nice  young  man,  but  he  does  not  know  the  difference  between 
hay  and  straw,  and  I  begged  him  not  to  remain.  And  he 
would  not  drink  the  beer  of  this  public-house ;  but  that  is 
the  way  of  all  you  Englishmen — you  are  so  particular  about 
things,  and  always  thinking  of  your  health,  and  always 
thinking  of  living,  instead  of  living  and  thinking  nothing 
about  it.  Ah,  you  do  not  know  how  fine  a  thing  it  is  to 
live  until  you  have  been  in  a  campaign,  my  dear  friend  ; 
and  then  you  know  how  fine  it  is  that  you  can  eat  with 
great  hunger,  and  how  fine  it  is  when  you  get  a  tumbler  of 
wine,  and  how  fine  it  is  to  sleep.  You  are  very  glad,  then, 
to  be  able  to  walk  firm  on  your  legs,  and  find  yourself  alive 
and  strong.  But  always,  I  think,  your  countrymen  do  not. 
enjoy  being  alive  so  much  as  mine  ;  they  are  always  im- 
patient for  something,  trying  to  do  something,  hoping  for 
something,  instead  of  being  satisfied  of  finding  every  day  a 
good  new  day,  and  plenty  of  satisfaction  in  it,  with  talking 
to  people,  and  seeing  things,  and  a  cigar  now  and  again. 
Just  now,  when  I  wake,  I  laugh  to  myself,  and  say,  '  How 
very  good  it  is  to  sleep  in  a  bed,  and  shut  yourself  out  from 
noise,  and  get  up  when  you  please  ! '  Then  you  have  a 
good  breakfast,  and  all  the  day  begins  afresh,  and  you  have 
no  fear  of  being  crippled  and  sent  off  to  the  hospital.  Oh  ! 
it  is  very  good  to  have  this  freedom — this  carelessness — this 
seeing  of  new  things  and  new  people  every  day.  And  that 
is  a  very  pretty  young  lady  become,  your  Miss  Bell :  I  do 
remember  her  only  a  shy  little  girl,  who  spoke  German  with 


26  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

your  strange  English  way  of  pronouncing  the  vowels,  and 
was  very  much  bashful  over  it.  Oh  yes,  she  is  very  good- 
looking  indeed ;  her  hair  looks  as  if  there  were  streaks  of 
sunshine  in  the  light  brown  of  it,  and  her  eyes  are  very 
thoughtful,  and  she  has  a  beautiful  outline  of  the  chin  that 
makes  her  neck  and  throat  very  pretty.  And,  you  know,  I 
rather  like  the  nose  not  hooked,  like  most  of  your  English 
young  ladies  ;  when  it  is  a  little  the  other  way,  and  fine, 
and  delicate  it  makes  the  face  piquant  and  tender,  not 
haughty  and  cold,  nicht  wahr  ?  But  she  is  very  English- 
looking  ;  I  would  take  her  as  a — as  a — a — type,  do  you  call 
it  ? — of  the  pretty  young  Englishwoman,  well-formed,  open- 
eyed,  with  good  healthy  colour  in  her  face,  and  very  frank 
and  gentle,  and  independent  all  at  the  same  time.  Oh,  she 
is  a  very  good  girl — a  very  good  girl,  I  can  see  that." 

"  Yes,"  I  said  ;  "  I  think  she  will  marry  the  young  fellow 
whom  you  saw  to-night." 

"  And  that  will  be  very  good  for  him,"  he  replied,  easily  ; 
"  for  she  will  look  after  him  and  give  him  some  common 
sense.  He  is  not  practical ;  he  has  not  seen  much  ;  he  is 
moody,  and  nervous,  and  thinks  greatly  about  trifles. 
But  I  think  he  will  be  very  amiable  to  her,  and  that 
is  much.  You  know,  ah1  the  best  women  many  stupid 
men." 

There  was,  however,  no  need  for  our  going  into  that 
dangerous  subject ;  for  at  this  moment  we  arrived  at  Dr. 
Ashburton's  house.  Yon  Eosen  rushed  upstairs  to  his  room, 
to  remove  the  traces  of  his  recent  employment  ;  and  then, 
as  we  both  entered  the  drawing-room,  we  found  Bell  stand- 
ing right  under  the  central  gaselier,  which  was  pouring  its 
rays  down  on  her  wealth  of  golden-brown  hair.  Indeed,  she 
then  deserved  all  that  von  Rosen  had  said  about  her  being 
a  type  of  our  handsomest  young  Englishwomen — rather  tall, 
well-formed,  showing  a  clear  complexion,  and  healthy  rosi- 
ness  in  her  cheeks,  while  there  was  something  at  once  defiant 
and  gentle  in  her  look.  Comely  enough  she  was  to  attract 
the  notice  of  any  stranger  ;  but  it  was  only  those  who  had 
spent  years  with  her,  and  had  observed  all  her  winning  ways, 
her  unselfishness,  and  the  rare  honour  and  honesty  that 
lay  behind  all  her  pretty  affectations  of  petulance,  who 
could  really  tell  what  sort  of  young  person  our  Bonny  Bell 


OF  A  PHAETON.  27 

was.     She  was  sufficiently  handsome  to  draw  eyes  towards 
her, — 

"  But  if  ye  saw  that  which  no  eyes  can  see, 
The  inward  beauty  of  her  lovely  spirit, 
Garnished  with  heavenly  gifts  of  high  degree, 
Much  more  then  would  ye  wonder  at  that  sight. 
*  *  *  *  * 

There  dwell  sweet  Love  and  constant  Chastity, 
Unspotted  Faith,  and  comely  Womanhood, 
Kegard  of  Honour,  and  mild  Modesty." 

And  it  must  be  said  that  during  this  evening  Bell's 
conduct  was  beyond  all  praise.  Arthur  Ashburton  was 
rather  cold  and  distant  towards  her,  and  was  obviously  in 
a  bad  temper.  He  even  hovered  on  the  verge  of  rudeness 
towards  both  herself  and  the  Lieutenant.  Now,  nothing  de- 
lighted Bell  more  than  to  vary  the  even  and  pleasant  tenor 
of  her  life  with  a  series  of  pretty  quarrels  which  had  very 
little  element  of  seriousness  in  them ;  but  on  this  evening, 
when  she  was  provoked  into  quarrelling  in  earnest,  nothing 
could  exceed  the  good  sense,  and  gentleness,  and  forbearance 
she  showed.  At  dinner  she  sat  between  the  young  barrister 
and  his  father,  a  quiet,  little  white-haired  man  in  spectacles, 
with  small  black  eyes  that  twinkled  strangely  when  he  made 
his  nervous  little  jokes  and  looked  over  to  his  wife — the 
very  matter-of-fact  and  roseate  woman  who  sat  at  the 
opposite  end  of  the  table.  The  old  Doctor  was  a  much  more 
pleasant  companion  than  his  son  ;  but  Bell,  with  wonderful 
moderation,  did  her  best  to  re-establish  good  relations 
between  the  moody  young  barrister  and  herself.  Of  course, 
no  woman  will  prolong  such  overtures  indefinitely ;  and 
at  last  the  young  gentleman  managed  to  establish  a 
more  serious  breach  than  he  had  dreamed  of.  For  the 
common  talk  had  drifted  back  to  the  then  recent  war  ;  and 
our  Lieutenant  was  telling  us  a  story  about  three  Uhlanen, 
who  had,  out  of  mere  bravado,  ridden  down  the  main  street 
of  a  French  village,  and  out  at  the  other  end,  without  having 
been  touched  by  the  shots  fired  at  them,  when  young  Ash- 
burton  added  with  a  laugh — - 

"  I  suppose  they  were  so  padded  with  the  watches  and 
jewellery  they  had  gathered  on  their  way,  that  the  bullets 
glanced  off." 


28  7 HE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

Count  von  Rosen  looked  across  the  table  at  this  young 
man,  with  a  sort  of  wonder  in  his  eyes ;  and  then,  .with 
admirable  self-control,  he  turned  to  Queen  Tita,  and 
calmly  continued  the  story. 

But  as  for  Bell,  a  blush  of  shame  and  exceeding  mortifica- 
tion overspread  her  features.  No  madness  of  jealousy  could 
excuse  this  open  insult  to  a  stranger  and  a  guest.  From 
that  moment,  Bell  addressed  herself  exclusively  to  the  old 
Doctor,  and  took  no  more  notice  of  his  son  than  if  he  had 
been  in  the  moon.  She  was  deeply  hurt ;  but  she  managed 
to  conceal  her  disappointment  ;  and  indeed,  when  the  boys 
came  in  after  dinner,  she  had  so  far  picked  up  her  spirits  as 
to  be  able  to  talk  to  them  in  that  wild  way  which  they  re- 
garded with  mingled  awe  and  delight.  For  they  could  not 
understand  how  Auntie  Bell  was  allowed  to  use  strange 
words,  and  even  talk  Cumberlandshire  to  the  Doctor's 
own  face. 

Of  course  she  plied  the  boys  with  all  sorts  of  fruit  and 
sweetmeats,  until  Tita,  coming  suddenly  back  from  the 
campaign  in  France  to  the  table  before  her,  peremptorily 
ordered  her  to  cease.  Then  Bell  gathered  round  her  the 
decanters  ;  the  boys  had  their  half -glass  of  wine  ;  and  Bell 
swept  them  away  with  her  into  the  drawing-room,  when  the 
women  left. 

"  A  very  bright  young  lady — hm  ! — a  very  bright  and 
pleasant  young  lady  indeed,"  said  the  Doctor,  stretching 
out  his  short  legs  with  an  air  of  freedom,  and  beginning  to 
examine  the  decanters.  "  I  don't  wonder  the  young  fellows 
rave  about  her  ;  eh,  Arthur,  eh  ?  " 

Master  Arthur  rose  and  left  the  room. 

"  Touched,  eh  ?  "  said  the  father,  with  his  eyes  twinkling 
vehemently,  and  his  small  grey  features  twisted  into  a  smile. 
"  Hit  hard,  eh  ?  Gad,  I  don't  wonder  at  it ;  if  I  were  a 
young  fellow  myself — eh,  eh  ?  Claret  ?  Yes.  But  the 
young  fellows  now  don't  sing  about  their 'laughing  Lalage, 
or  drink  to  Glycera,  or  make  jokes  with  Lydia ;  it  is  all 
dreaming,  and  reading,  and  sighing,  eh,  eh  ?  That  boy  of 
mine  has  gone  mad — heeds  nothing — is  ill-tempered 

"  Very  much  so,  Doctor." 

"  Eh  ?  Ill-tempered  ?  Why,  his  mother  daren't  talk  to 
him ;  and  we're  glad  to  have  him  go  up  to  his  chambers 


OF  A  PHAETON.  29 

again.  Our  young  friend  here  is  of  another  sort ;  there  is 
no  care  about  a  woman  tempering  the  healthy  brown  of  the 
sun  and  the  weather,  eh  ? — is  there,  eh  ?  " 

"Why,  my  dear  Doctor,"  cried  the  Lieutenant,  with  a 
prodigious  laugh,  "  don't  you  think  Lydia's  lover — Lydia, 
die,  you  know — he  was  very  glad  to  be  away  from  rough 
sports  ?  He  had  other  enjoyments.  I  am  brown,  not 
because  of  my  wish,  but  that  I  have  been  made  to  work — 
that. is  all." 

The  Doctor  was  overjoyed,  and,  perhaps,  a  trifle  surprised, 
to  find  that  this  tall  Uhlan,  who  had  just  been  grooming  two 
horses,  understood  his  references  to  Horace  ;  and  he  im- 
mediately cried  out — 

"  No,  no  ;  you  must  not  lose  your  health,  and  your  colour, 
and  your  temper.  Would  you  have  your  friends  say  of  you, 
who  have  just  been  through  a  campaign  in  France — 

'Cur  neque  militaris 
Inter  sequales  equitat,  Gallica  nee  lupatia 

Ternperat  ora  frenis?' 
Eh,  eh  ?  " 

"  Tempemt  ora  frenis—  it  is  a  good  motto  for  our  driving 
excursion,"  said  the  Lieutenant  ;  "  but  was  it  your  Miss 
Bell  who  called  your  two  fine  horses  by  such  stupid  names 
as  Castor  and  Pollux  ?  " 

"  Nevertheless,"  said  the  Doctor,  eagerly,  "  Castor  was  said 
to  have  great  skill  in  the  management  of  horses, — eh, 
what  ?  " 

"  Certainly,"  said  the  Lieutenant.     "  And  both  together 
they  foretell  good  weather,  which  is  a  fine  thing  in  driving." 
"And  they   were   the  gods  of  boundaries,"   cried  the 
Doctor. 

"  And  they  got  people  out  of  trouble  when  everything 
seemed  all  over,"  returned  the  Count  ;  "  which  may  also 
happen  to  our  phaeton." 

"  And — and — and  " — here  the  Doctor's  small  face  fairly 
gleamed  with  a  joke,  and  he  broke  into  a  thin,  high  chuckle 
— "  they  ran  away  with  two  ladies — eh,  eh,  eh  ? — did  they 
not,  did  they  not  ?  " 

Presently  we  went  into  the  drawing-room,  and  there  the 
women  were  found  in  a  wild  maze  of  maps,  eagerly  discuss- 
ing the  various  routes  to  the  North,  and  the  comparative 


30  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

attractions  of  different  towns.  The  contents  of  Mr.  Stan- 
ford's shop  seemed  to  have  been  scattered  about  the  room  ; 
and  Bell  had  armed  herself  with  an  opisometer,  which  gave 
her  quite  an  air  of  importance. 

The  Lieutenant  was  out  of  this  matter  ;  so  he  flung  him- 
self down  into  an  easy  chair,  and  presently  had  both  of  the 
boys  on  his  knees,  telling  them  stories  and  propounding 
arithmetical  conundrums  alternately.  When  Queen  Tita 
came  to  release  him,  the  young  rebels  refused  to  go  ;  and 
one  of  them  declared  that  the  Count  had  promised  to  sing 
the  "  Wacht  am  Rhein." 

"  Oh,  please,  don't,"  said  Bell,  suddenly  turning  round, 
with  a  map  of  Cumberland  half  hiding  her.  "  You  don't 
know  that  all  the  barrel-organs  here  have  it.  But  if  you 
would  be  so  very  kind  as  to  sing  us  a  German  song,  I  will 
play  the  accompaniment  for  you,  if  I  know  it,  and  I  know 
a  great  many." 

Of  course,  the  women  did  not  imagine  that  a  man  who 
had  been  accustomed  to  a  soldier's  life,  and  who  had  just 
betrayed  a  faculty  for  grooming  horses,  was  likely  to  know 
much  more  of  music  than  a  handy  chorus  ;  but  the  Count, 
lightly  saying  he  would  not  trouble  her,  went  over  to  the 
piano,  and  sat  down  unnoticed  amid  the  general  hum  of 
conversation. 

But  the  next  moment  there  was  sufficient  silence.     For 
with  a   crash  like  thunder — "  Hei  !  das  klang  wie  Unge- 
witter  !  " — the  young  Lieutenant  struck  the  first  chords  of 
"  Prinz  Eugen  ;  "  and  with  a  sort  of  upward  toss  of  the  head, 
as  if  he  were  making  room  for  himself,  he  began  to  sing 
Freiligrath's  picturesque  soldier-song  to  the  wild  and  war- 
like and  yet  stately  music  which  Dr.  Lowe  has  written  for 
it.     What  a  rare  voice  he  had,  too  ! — deep,  strong,   and 
resonant — that  seemed  to  throw  itself  into  the  daring  spirit 
of  the  music  with  an  absolute  disregard  of  delicate  graces  or 
sentimental  effect ;  a  powerful,  masculine,  soldier-like  voice, 
that  had  little  flute-like  softness,  but  the  strength  and  thrill 
that  told  of  a  deep  chest,  and  that  interpenetrated  or  rose 
above  the  loudest  chords  that  his  ten  fingers  struck.     Queen 
Tita's  face  was  overspread  with  surprise  ;  Bell  unconsciously 
laid  down  the  map,  and  stood  as  one  amazed.     The  ballad, 
you  know,  tells  how,  one  calm  night  on  the  banks  of  the 


OF  A  PHAETON.  31 

Danube,  just  after  the  great  storming  of  Belgrade,  a  young 
trumpeter  in  the  camp  determines  to  leave  aside  cards  for 
a  while,  and  make  a  right  good  song  for  the  army  to  sing  ; 
how  he  sets  to  work  to  tell  the  story  of  the  battle  in  ringing 
verse  ;  and  at  last,  when  he  has  got  the  rhymes  correct,  he 
makes  the  notes  too,  and  his  song  is  complete.  "  Ho,  ye 
white  troops  and  ye  red  troops,  come  round  and  listen  !  " 
he  cries  ;  and  then  he  sings  the  record  of  the  great  deeds  of 
Prince  Eugene  ;  and  lo  !  as  he  repeats  the  air  for  the  third 
time,  there  breaks  forth,  with  a  hoarse  roar  as  of  thunder, 
the  chorus  "  Prinz  Eugen  der  edle  Eitter  !  "  until  the  sound 
of  it  is  carried  even  into  the  Turkish  camp.  And  then  the 
young  trumpeter,  not  dissatisfied  with  his  performance, 
proudly  twirls  his  moustache  ;  and  finally  sneaks  away  to 
tell  of  his  triumph  to  the  pretty  Marketenderin.  When  our 
young  Uhlan  rose  from  the  piano,  he  laughed  in  an  apologetic 
fashion  ;  but  there  was  still  in  his  face  some  of  that  glow  and 
fire  which  had  made  him  forget  himself  during  the  singing 
of  the  ballad,  and  which  had  lent  to  his  voice  that  penetrat- 
ing resonance  that  still  seemed  to  linger  about  the  room. 
Bell  said  "  Thank  you  "  in  rather  a  timid  way  ;  but  Queen 
Tita  did  not  speak  at  all,  and  seemed  to  have  forgotten  us. 

We  had  more  music  that  evening,  and  Bell  produced  her 
guitar,  which  was  expected  to  solace  us  much  on  our  journey. 
It  was  found  that  the  Lieutenant  could  play  that  too  in  a 
rough  fashion  ;  and  he  executed  at  least  a  very  pretty  accom- 
paniment when  Bell  sang  "Der  Tyroler  und  sein  Kind." 
But  you  should  have  seen  the  face  of  Master  Arthur  when 
Bell  volunteered  to  sing  a  German  song.  I  believe  she  did 
it  to  show  that  she  was  not  altogether  frightened  by  the 
gloomy  and  mysterious  silence  which  he  preserved,  as  he  sat 
in  a  corner  and  stared  at  everybody. 

So  ended  our  first  day  :  and  to-morrow — why,  to-morrow 
we  pass  away  from  big  cities  and  their  suburbs,  from  multi- 
tudes of  friends,  late  hours,  and  the  whirl  of  amusements 
and  follies,  into  the  still  seclusion  of  English  country  life, 
with  its  simple  habits,  and  fresh  pictures,  and  the  quaint 
humours  of  its  inns. 


[Note  l>y  Queen  Titcmia. — "  The  foregoing  pages  give  a  more  or  less 
accurate  account  of  our  setting-out,  but  they  are  all  wrong  about  Bell. 


32  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

Men  are  far  worse  than  women  in  imagining  love-affairs,  and  supposing 
that  girls  think  about  nothing  else.  Bell  wishes  to  ~be  let  alone.  If 
gentlemen  care  to  make  themselves  uncomfortable  about  her,  she  can- 
not help  it ;  but  it  is  rather  unfair  to  drag  her  into  any  such  com- 
plications. I  am  positive  that,  though  she  has  doubtless  a  little  pity 
for  that  young  man  who  vexes  himself  and  his  friends  because  he  is 
not  good  enough  for  her,  she  would  not  be  sorry  to  see  him,  and  Count 
von  Rosen — and  some  one  else  besides — all  start  off  on  a  cruise  to 
Australia.  She  is  quite  content  to  be  as  she  is.  Marriage  \vill  come 
in  good  time  ;  and  when  it  comes,  she  will  get  plenty  of  it,  sure  enough. 
In  the  meantime,  I  hope  she  will  not  be  suspected  of  encouraging 
those  idle  flirtations  and  pretences  of  worship  with  which  gentlemen 
think  they  ought  to  approach  every  girl  whose  good  fortune  it  is  not  to 
be  married. — T."] 


CHAPTER  IV. 

AETHUR    VANISHES. 

"  Hampton  me  taught  to  wish  her  first  fur  mine ; 
And  Windsor,  alas !  doth  chase  me  from  her  sight." 

"  RAIN  !  "  cried  Queen  Titania,  as  she  walked  up  to 
the  window  of  the  breakfast-room,  and  stared  reproachfully 
out  on  cloudy  skies,  gloomy  trees,  and  the  wet  thorough- 
fares of  Twickenham. 

"  Surely  not !  "  said  Bell,  in  anxious  tones  ;  and  there- 
with she  too  walked  up  to  one  of  the  panes,  while  an 
expression  of  deep  mortification  settled  down  on  her  face. 

She  stood  so  for  a  second  or  two,  irresolute  and  hurt ; 
and  then  a  revengeful  look  came  into  her  eyes  ;  she  walked 
firmly  over  to  my  Lady,  got  close  up  to  her  ear,  and 
apparently  uttered  a  single  word.  Tita  almost  jumped 
back  ;  and  then  she  looked  at  the  girl. 

"  Bell,  how  dare  you  !  "  she  said,  in  her  severest  manner. 

Bell  turned  and  shyly  glanced  at  the  rest  of  us,  probably 
to  make  sure  none  of  us  had  heard  ;  and  then,  all  this 
mysterious  transaction  being  brought  to  a  close,  she 
returned  to  the  table  and  calmly  took  up  a  newspaper. 
But  presently  she  threw  it  aside,  and  glanced,  with  some 
heightened  colour  in  her  face  and  some  half-frightened 
amusement  in  her  eyes,  towards  Tita  ;  and  lo  !  that 
majestic  little  woman  was  still  regarding  the  girl,  and  there 
was  surprise  as  well  as  sternness  in  her  look. 

Presently   the  brisk  step   of    Oswald    von   Rosen  was 


OF  A  PHAETON.  33 

heard  outside,  and  in  a  minute  or  two  the  tall  young  man 
came  into  the  room,  with  a  fine  colour  in  his  face,  and  a 
sprinkling  of  rain  about  his  big  brown  beard. 

"  Ha  !     Not  late  ?     No  ?     That  is  very  good  !  " 

"  But  it  rains  !  "  said  Tita  to  him,  in  an  injured  way, 
as  if  anyone  who  had  been  out  of  doors  was  necessarily 
responsible  for  the  weather. 

"  Not  much,"  he  said.  "  It  may  go  off  ;  but  about  six 
it  did  rain  very  hard,  and  I  got  a  little  wet  then,  I  think." 

"  And  where  were  you  at  six  ?  "  said  Tita,  with  her  pretty 
brown  eyes  opened  wide. 

"  At  Isleworth,"  he  said,  carelessly  ;  and  then  he  added  : 
"  Oh,  I  have  done  much  business  this  morning,  and  bought 
something  for  your  two  boys,  which  will  make  them  not 
mind  that  you  go  away.  It  is  hard,  you  know,  they  are 
left  behind— 

"  But  Bell  has  given  them  silver  watches  !  "  said  Mamma. 
"  Is  not  that  enough  ?  " 

"  They  will  break  them  in  a  day.  Now  when  I  went  to 
the  stables  this  morning  to  feed  the  horses,  the  old  ostler 
was  there.  We  had  a  quarrel  last  night ;  but  no  matter. 
We  became  very  good  friends — he  told  me  much  about 
Buckinghamshire  and  himself— he  told  me  he  did  know 
your  two  boys— he  told  me  he  knew  of  a  pony — oh  !  a  very 
nice  little  pony — that  was  for  sale  from  a  gentleman  in 
Isleworth — 

"  And  you've  bought  them  a  pony  ! "  cried  Bell,  clap- 
ping her  hands. 

"  Bell,"  said  Tita,  with  a  severe  look,  "  how  foolish  you 
are  !  How  could  you  think  of  anything  so  absurd  ?  " 

"  But  she  is  quite  right,  Madame,"  said  the  Lieutenant, 
"  and  it  will  be  here  in  an  hour,  and  you  must  not  tel] 
them  till  it  comes." 

"  And  you  mean  to  leave  them  with  that  animal !  Why 
they  will  break  their  necks,  both  of  them,"  cried  my  Lady. 

"  Oh  no  !  "  said  the  Lieutenant  ;  "  a  tumble  does  not 
hurt  boys,  not  at  all.  And  this  is  a  very  quiet,  small  pony 
• — oh,  I  did  pull  him  about  to  try,  and  he  will  not  harm 
anybody.  And  very  rough  and  strong — I  think  the  old 
man  did  call  him  a  Scotland  pony." 

"  A  Shetland  pony." 


34  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

"  Ah,  very  well,"  said  our  Uhlan  ;  and  then  he  began  to 
turn  wistful  eyes  to  the  breakfast  table. 

They  sat  down  to  breakfast,  almost  forgetting  the  rain. 
They  were  very  well  pleased  with  the  coming  of  the  pony. 
It  would  be  a  capital  thing  for  the  boys'  health  ;  it  would 
be  this  and  would  be  that ;  but  only  one  person  there 
reflected  that  this  addition  to  the  comforts  of  the  young 
rogues  upstairs  would  certainly  cost  him  sixteen  shillings  a 
week  all  the  year  round. 

Suddenly,  in  the  midst  of  this  talk,  Bell  looked  up  and 
said — • 

"  But  where  is  Arthur  ?  " 

"  Oh,"  said  the  mother  of  the  young  man,  "  he  went  up 
to  town  this  morning  at  eight.  He  took  it  for  granted  you 
would  not  start  to-day." 

"  He  might  have  waited  to  see,"  said  Bell,  looking  down. 
"  I  suppose  he  is  not  so  very  much  occupied  in  the  Temple. 
What  if  we  have  to  go  away  before  he  comes  back  ?  " 

"  But  perhaps  he  won't  come  back,"  said  Mrs.  Ashburton, 
gently. 

Bell  looked  surprised ;  and  then,  with  a  little  firmness 
about  the  mouth,  held  her  peace  for  some  time.  It  was 
clear  that  Master  Arthur's  absence  had  •  some  considerable 
significance  in  it,  which  she  was  slowly  determining  in  her 
own  mind. 

When  Bell  next  spoke,  she  proposed  that  we  should  sefc 
out,  rain  or  no  rain. 

"  It  will  not  take  much  time  to  drive  down  to  Henley," 
she  said.  "  And  if  we  begin  by  paying  too  much  attention 
to  slight  showers,  we  shall  never  get  on.  Besides,  Count 
von  Rosen  ought  to  see  how  fine  are  our.  English  rain 
landscapes — what  softened  colours  are  brought  out  in  the 
trees  and  in  the  greys  of  the  distance  under  a  dark  sky.  It 
is  not  nearly  so  dismal  as  a  wet  day  abroad,  in  a  level 
country,  with  nothing  but  rows  of  poplars  along  the  horizon. 
Here,"  she  said,  .turning  to  the  Lieutenant,  who  had 
probably  heard  of  her  recent  successes  in  water-colour, 
"  you  have  light  mists  hanging  about  the  woods  ;  and  there 
is  a  rough  surface  on  the  rivers  ;  and  all  the  hedges  and 
fields  get  dark  and  intense  ;  and  a  bit  of  scarlet — say  a 
woman's  cloak — is  very  fine  under  the  gloom  of  the  sky. 


OF  A  PHAETON.  35 

I  ain  sure  you  are  not  afraid  of  wet ;  and  I  know  that  the  rest 
of  us  never  got  into  such  good  spirits  during  our  Surrey 
drives  as  when  we  were  dashing  through  torrents  and 
slinking  the  rain  from  about  our  faces.  Why,  this  is  nothing 
— a  mere  passing  shower — and  the  country  down  by 
Hounslow  will  look  very  well  under  dark  clouds  ;  and  we 
cannot  do  better  than  start  at  once  for  Henley  !  " 

"  What  is  the  matter,  Bell  ?  "  said  Tita,  regarding  the 
girl  with  her  clear,  observant  eyes.  "  One  would  think  you 
were  vexed  about  our  staying  in  Twickenham  until  to- 
morrow, and  yet  nobody  has  proposed  that  yet." 

"  I  don't  wish  to  waste  time,"  said  Bell,  looking  down. 

Here  the  Lieutenant  laughed  aloud. 

"  Forgive  me,  Mademoiselle,"  he  said,  "  but  what  you 
say  is  very  much  like  the  English  people.  They  are  always 
much  afraid  of  losing  time,  though  it  does  not  matter  to 
them.  I  think  your  commercial  habits  have  become 
national,  and  got  amongst  people  who  have  nothing  to  do 
with  commerce.  I  find  English  ladies  who  have  weeks  and 
months  at  their  disposal  travel  all  night  by  train,  and  make 
themselves  very  wretched.  Why  ?  To  save  a  day,  they  tell 
you.  I  find  English  people,  with  two  months'  holiday 
before  them,  undertake  all  the  uncomforts  of  a  night- 
passage  from  Dover  to  Calais.  Why  ?  To  save  a  day. 
How  does  it  matter  to  you,  for  example,  that  we  start  to- 
day, or  to-morrow,  or  next  week  ?  Only  that  you  feel  you 
must  be  doing  something — you  must  accomplish  something 
• — you  must  save  time.  It  is  all  English.  It  is  with  your 
amusements  as  with  your  making  of  money.  You  are  never 
satisfied.  You  are  always  looking  forward — wishing  to  do 
or  have  certain  things— never  content  to  stop,  and  rest,  and 
enjoy  doing  nothing." 

Now  what  do  you  think  our  Bell  did  on  being  lectured 
in  this  fashion  ?  Say  something  in  reply,  only  kept  from 
being  saucy  by  her  sweet  manner  of  saying  it  ?  Or  rise 
and  leave  the  room,  and  refuse  to  be  coaxed  into  a  good 
humour  for  hours  ?  Why,  no.  She  answered  in  the  gentlest 
way — 

"  I  think  you  are  right,  Count  von  Rosen.  It  really  does 
not  matter  to  me  whether  we  go  to-day  or  to-morrow." 

"  But  you  shall  go  to-day,  Bell,"  say  I,  "  even  though 

D  2 


36  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

it   should  rain  Duke  Georges.     At  four   of   the  clock  we 
start." 

"  My  dear,"  says  Tita,  "  this  is  absurd." 

"  Probably ;  but  none  the  less  Castor  and  Pollux  shall 
start  at  that  hour." 

"  You  are  beginning  to  show  your  authority  somewhat 
early,"  says  my  Lady,  with  a  suspicious  sweetness  in  her 
tone. 

"  What  there  is  left  of  it,"  I  remark,  looking  at  Bell,  who 
descries  a  fight  in  the  distance,  and  is  all  attention. 

"  Count  von  Eosen,"  says  Tita,  turning  in  her  calmest 
manner  to  the  young  man,  "  what  do  you  think  of  this  piece 
of  folly  ?  It  may  clear  up  long  before  that  :  it  may  be 
raining  heavily  then.  Why  should  wre  run  the  risk  of 
incurring  serious  illness  by  determining  to  start  at  a 

particular  hour  ?     It  is  monstrous.     It  is  absurd.     It  is 

it  is- 

"  Well,"  said  the  Lieutenant,  with  an  easy  shrug  and  a 
laugh,  "  it  is  not  of  much  consequence  you  make  the  rule  ; 
for  you  will  break  it  if  it  is  not  agreeable.  For  myself,  I 
have  been  accustomed  to  start  at  a  particular  hour,  whatever 
happens  ;  but  for  pleasure,  wrhat  is  the  use  ?  " 

"  Yes,  what  is  the  use  ?  "  repeats  Titania,  turning  to  the 
rest  of  us  with  a  certain  ill-concealed  air  of  triumph. 

"  St.  Augustine,"  I  observed  to  this  rebellious  person, 
"  remarks  that  the  obedience  of  a  wife  to  her  husband  is  no 
virtue,  so  long  as  she  does  only  that  which  is  reasonable,  just, 
and  pleasing  to  herself." 

"  I  don't  believe  St.  Augustine  said  anything  of  the 
kind,"  replied  she  ;  "  and  if  he  did,  he  hadn't  a  wife,  and 
didn't  know  what  he  was  talking  about.  I  will  not  allow 
Bell  to  catch  her  death  of  cold.  We  shall  not  start  at 
four." 

"  Two  o'clock,  luncheon.  Half -past  two  the  moon  enters 
Capricorn.  Three  o'clock,  madness  rages.  Four,  colds 
attack  the  human  race.  We  start  at  four." 

By  this  time  breakfast  was  over,  and  all  the  reply  that 
Tita  vouchsafed  was  to  wear  a  pleased  smile  of  defiance  as 
she  left  the  room.  The  Count,  too,  went  out ;  and  in  a  few 
minutes  we  saw  him  in  the  road,  leading  the  pony  he  had 
bought.  The  boys  had  been  kept  upstairs,  and  were  told 


OF  A  PHAETON.  37 

nothing  of  the  surprise  in  store  for  them  ;  so  that  we  were 
promised  a  stirring  scene  in  front  of  the  Doctor's  house. 

Presently  the  Lieutenant  arrived  at  the  gate,  and  summoned 
Bell  from  the  window.  She  having  gone  to  the  door,  and 
spoken  to  him  for  a  second  or  two,  went  into  the  house,  and 
reappeared  with  a  bundle  of  coarse  cloths.  Was  the  foolish 
young  man  going  to  groom  the  pony  in  front  of  the  house, 
merely  out  of  bravado  ?  At  all  events,  he  roughly  dried  the 
shaggy  coat  of  the  sturdy  little  animal,  and  then  carefully 
wiped  the  mud  from  its  small  legs  and  hoofs.  Bell  went 
down  and  took  the  bridle  ;  the  Lieutenant  was  behind,  to 
give  a  push  if  necessary. 

"  Come  up,  Dick  !  "  she  said  ;  and  after  a  few  frightened 
stumbles  on  the  steps  the  pony  stood  in  the  Doctor's  hall  ! 

The  clatter  of  the  small  hoofs  on  the  waxcloth  had  brought 
the  boys  out  to  the  first  landing,  and  they  were  looking  down 
with  intense  surprise  on  the  appearance  of  a  live  horse  in  the 
house.  When  Bell  had  called  them  and  told  them  that  the 
Count  had  bought  this  pony  for  them,  that  it  was  a  real  pony, 
and  that  they  would  have  to  feed  it  every  day,  they  came 
down  the  stairs  with  quite  a  frightened  air.  They  regarded 
the  animal  from  a  distance,  and  then  at  last  Master  Jack 
ventured  to  go  up  and  touch  its  neck. 

"Why,"  he  said,  as  if  suddenly  struck  with  the  notion 
that  it  was  really  alive,  "  I'll  get  it  an  apple  !  " 

He  went  upstairs,  three  steps  at  a  bound  ;  and  by  the 
time  he  came  back  Master  Tom  had  got  in  the  saddle,  and 
was  for  riding  his  steed  into  the  breakfast-room.  Then  he 
would  ride  him  out  into  the  garden.  Jack  insisted  on 
his  having  the  apple  first.  The  mother  of  both  called  out 
from  above  that  if  they  went  into  the  garden  in  the  rain  she 
would  have  the  whole  house  whipped.  But  all  the  same, 
Master  Tom,  led  by  the  Lieutenant  and  followed  by  Bell — 
whose  attentions  in  holding  him  on  he  regarded  with  great 
dislike — rode  in  state  along  the  passage,  and  through  the 
kitchen,  and  out  by  a  back  door  into  the  garden. 

"  Let  me  go,  Auntie  Bell  ! "  he  said,  shaking  himself 
free.  "  I  can  ride  very  well — I  have  ridden  often  at 
Leatherhead." 

"  Off  you  go,  then,"  said  the  Lieutenant :  "  lean  well 
back— don't  kick  him  with  your  heels — off  you  go  !  " 


38  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

The  pony  shook  his  rough  little  mane,  and  started  upon  a 
very  sedate  and  patient  walk  along  the  smooth  path. 

"  Fist !  Hei !  Go  ahead  !  "  cried  Master  Tom,  and  he 
twitched  at  the  bridle  in  quite  a  knowing  way. 

Thus  admonished,  the  pony  broke  into  a  brisk  trot,  which 
at  first  jogged  Master  Tom  on  to  its  neck,  but  he  managed 
to  wriggle  back  into  the  saddle  and  get  hold  of  the  reins 
again.  His  riding  was  not  a  masterly  performance  ;  but  at 
all  events  he  stuck  on  ;  and  when  after  having  trotted  thrice 
round  the  garden,  he  slid  off  of  his  own  will  and  brought 
the  pony  up  to  us,  his  chubby  round  face  was  gleaming  with 
pride,  and  flushed  colour,  and  rain.  Then  it  was  Jack's 
turn  ;  but  this  young  gentleman,  having  had  less  experience, 
was  attended  by  the  Lieutenant,  who  walked  round  the 
garden  with  him,  and  gave  him  his  first  lessons  in  the  art  of 
horsemanship.  It  was  a  very  pretty  amusement  for  those 
of  us  who  remained  under  the  archway  ;  but  for  those  in  the 
garden  it  was  beginning  to  prove  a  trifle  damp.  Neverthe- 
less, Bell  begged  hard  for  the  boys  to  be  let  alone,  seeing 
that  they  were  transported  with  delight  over  their  new  toy  ; 
and  it  is  probable  that  both  they  and  their  instructor  would 
have  got  soaked  to  the  skin  had  not  Queen  Titania  appeared, 
with  her  face  full  of  an  awful  wrath. 

What  occurred  then  it  is  difficult  to  relate  ;  for  in  the 
midst  of  the  storm  Bell  laughed  ;  and  the  boys,  being 
deprived  of  their  senses  by  the  gift  of  the  pony,  laughed 
also — at  their  own  mother.  Tita  fell  from  her  high  estate 
directly.  The  splendours  of  her  anger  faded  away  from  her 
face,  and  she  ran  out  into  the  rain  and  cuffed  the  boys'  ears, 
and  kissed  them,  and  drove  them  into  the  house  before  her. 
And  she  was  so  good  as  to  thank  the  Count  formally  for  his 
present ;  and  with  a  kindly  smile  bade  the  boys  be  good 
boys  and  attend  to  their  lessons  when  they  had  so  much 
amusement  provided  for  them  ;  and  finally  turned  to  Bell, 
and  said,  that  as  we  had  to  start  at  four  o'clock,  we  might  as 
well  have  our  things  packed  before  luncheon. 

Now  such  was  the  reward  of  this  wifely  obedience  that  at 
four  o'clock  the  rain  had  actually  and  definitely  ceased  ;  and 
the  clouds,  though  they  still  hung  low,  were  gathering  them- 
selves up  into  distinct  forms.  When  the  phaeton  was 
brought  round,  there  was  not  even  any  necessity  for  putting 


OF  A  PHAETON.  59 

up  the  hood  ;  and  Tita,  having  seen  that  everything  was 
placed  in  the  vehicle,  was  graciously  pleased  to  ask  the 
Lieutenant  if  he  would  drive,  that  she  might  sit  beside  him 
and  point  out  objects  of  interest. 

Then  she  kissed  the  boys  very  affectionately,  and  bade 
them  take  care  not  to  tumble  off  the  pony.  The  Doctor 
and  his  wife  wished  us  every  good  fortune.  Bell  threw  a 
wistful  glance  up  and  down  the  road,  and  then  turned  her 
face  a  little  aside.  The  Count  shook  the  reins,  and  our 
phaeton  rolled  slowly  away  from  Twickenham. 

"Why,  Bell,"  I  said,  as  we  were  crossing  the  railway 
bridge,  and  my  companion  looked  round  to  see  if  there  were 
a  train  at  the  station,  "  you  have  been  crying." 

"  Not  much,"  said  Bell,  frankly,  but  in  a  very  low  voice. 

"  But  why  ?  "  I  ask. 

"  You  know,"  she  said. 

"I  know  that  Arthur  has  been  very  unreasonable,  and 
that  he  has  gone  up  to  London  in  a  fit  of  temper  ;  and  I 
know  what  I  think  of  the  whole  transaction,  and  what  I 
consider  he  deserves.  But  I  didn't  think  you  cared  for  him 
so  much,  Bell,  or  were  so  vexed  about  it." 

"  Care  for  him  ?  "  she  said,  with  a  glance  at  the  people 
before  us,  lest  the  low  sound  of  her  voice  might  not  be 
entirely  drowned  by  the  noise  of  the  wheels  in  the  muddy 
road.  "  That  may  mean  much  or  little.  You  know  I  like 
Arthur  very  well  ;  and — and  I  am  afraid  he  is  vexed  with 
me ;  and  it  is  not  pleasant  to  part  like  that  with  one's 
friends." 

"  He  will  write  to  you,  Bell  ;  or  he  will  drop  down  on 
us  suddenly  some  evening  when  we  are  at  Oxford,  or 
Worcester,  or  Shrewsbury— 

"  I  hope  he  will  not  do  that,"  said  Bell,  with  some  ex- 
pression of  alarm.  "  If  he  does,  I  know  something  dreadful 
will  happen." 

"  But  Master  Arthur,  Bell,  is  not  exactly  the  sort  of 
person  to  displace  the  geological  strata." 

"  Oh,  you  don't  know  what  a  temper  he  has  at  times," 
she  said  ;  and  then,  suddenly  recovering  herself,  she  added 
hastily,  "  but  he  is  exceedingly  good  and  kind  for  all  that ; 
only  he  is  vexed,  you  know,  at  not  being  able  to  get  on  ; 
and  perhaps  he  is  a  little  jealous  of  people  who  are  success- 


40  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

ful,  and  in  good  circumstances,  and  independent  ;  and  lie 
is  apt  to  think  that — that — that— 

"  His  lady-love  will  be  carried  off  by  some  wealthy 
suitor  before  he  has  been  able  to  amass  a  fortune  ?  " 

"  You  mustn't  talk  as  if  I  were  engaged  to  Arthur 
Ashburton,"  said  Bell,  rather  proudly,  "  or  even  that  I  am 
ever  likely  to  be." 

Our  Bonny  Bell  soon  recovered  her  spirits  ;  for  she  felt 
that  we  had  at  last  really  set  out  on  our  journey  to  Scotland  ; 
and  her  keen  liking  for  all  out-of-door  sights  and  sounds 
was  now  heightened  by  a  vague  and  glad  anticipation.  If 
Arthur  Ashburton,  as  I  deemed  highly  probable,  should 
endeavour  to  overtake  us,  and  effect  a  reconciliation  or 
final  understanding  with  Bell,  we  were,  for  the  present  at 
least,  speeding  rapidly  away  from  him. 

As  we  drove  through  the  narrow  lane  running  down  by 
Whitton  Park  and  Whitton  Dean,  the  warm,  moist  winds 
were  blowing  a  dozen  odours  about  from  the  far,  low- 
stretching  fields  and  gardens  ;  and  the  prevailing  sweetness 
of  the  air  seemed  to  herald  our  departure  from  the  last 
suburban  traces  of  London.  Splash  !  went  the  horses' 
hoofs  into  the  yellow  pools  of  the  roads  ;  and  the  rattle  of 
the  wheels  seemed  to  send  an  echo  through  the  stillness  of 
the  quiet  country-side ;  while  overhead  the  dark  and  level 
clouds  became  more  fixed  and  grey,  and  we  hoped  they  would 
ultimately  draw  together  and  break,  so  as  to  give  us  a 
glimpse  of  pallid  sunshine.  Then  we  drove  up  through 
Ilounslow  to  the  famous  inn  at  the  cross-roads  which  was 
known  to  travellers  in  the  highway-robbery  days  ;  and  here 
our  Bell  complained  that  so  many  of  these  hostelries  should 
bear  her  name.  Tita,  we  could  hear,  was  telling  her  com- 
panion of  all  the  strange  incidents  connected  with  this  inn 
and  its  neighbourhood  which  she  could  recall  from  the  pages 
of  those  various  old-fashioned  fictions  which  are  much  more 
interesting  to  some  folks  than  the  most  accurate  histories. 
So  we  bowled  along  the  Bath  road,  over  Cranford  Bridge, 
past  the  Magpies,  through  Colnbrook,  and  on  to  Langley 
Marsh,  when  the  Count  suddenly  exclaimed — 

"  But  the  Heath  ?  I  have  not  seen  Hounslow  Heath, 
where  the  highwaymen  used  to  be  !  " 

Alas  !  there  was  no  more  Heath  to  show  him — only  the 


OF  A  PHAETON.  41 

level  and  wooded  beauties  of  a  cultivated  English  plain. 
And  yet  these,  as  we  saw  them  then,  under  the  conditions 
that  Bell  had  described  in  the  morning,  were  sufficiently 
pleasant  to  see.  All  around  us  stretched  a  fertile  landscape, 
with  the  various  greens  of  its  trees  and  fields  and  hedges 
grown  dark  and  strong  under  the  gloom  of  the  sky.  The 
winding  road  ran  through  this  country  like  the  delicate  grey 
streak  of  a  river ;  there  were  distant  farmhouses  peeping 
from  the  sombre  foliage  ;  an  occasional  wayside  inn  standing 
deserted  amid  its  rude  outhouses  ;  a  passing  tramp  plodding 
through  the  mire.  Strange  and  sweet  came  the  damp, 
warm  winds  from  over  the  fields  of  beans  and  of  clover  ;  and 
it  seemed  as  if  the  wild-roses  in  the  tall  and  straggling 
hedges  had  increased  in  multitude  so  as  to  perfume  the 
whole  land.  And  then,  as  we  began  to  observe  in  the  west, 
with  a  great  joy,  some  faint  streaks  of  sunshine  descend 
like  a  shimmering  comb  upon  the  landscape,  lo  !  in  the 
south  there  arose  before  us  a  great  and  stately  building, 
whose  tall  grey  towers  and  spacious  walls,  seen  against  the 
dark  clouds  of  the  horizon,  were  distant,  and  pale,  and 
spectral. 

"  It  looks  like  a  phantom  castle,  does  it  not  ?  "  said  Bell, 
speaking  in  quite  a  low  voice.  "  Don't  you  think  it  has 
sprung  up  in  the  heavens  like  the  Fata  Morgana,  or  the 
spectral  ship,  and  that  it  will  fade  away  again  and  dis- 
appear ?  " 

Indeed  it  looked  like  the  ghost  of  one  of  the  castles  of 
King  Arthur's  time — that  old,  strange  time  when  England 
lay  steeped  in  grey  mists  and  fogs  blown  about  by  the 
sea-winds,  when  there  does  not  seem  to  have  been  any  sun- 
shine, but  only  a  gloom  of  shifting  vapours,  half  hiding  the 
voiceless  knights  and  the  shadowy  queens,  with  all  their  faint 
and  mystical  stories  and  pilgrimages  and  visions.  The  castle 
down  there  looked  as  if  it  had  never  been  touched  by  sharp, 
clear,  modern  sunlight,  that  is  cruel  to  ghosts  and  phantoms. 

But  here  Bell's  reveries  were  interrupted  by  Lieutenant 
von  Eosen,  who,  catching  sight  of  the  castle  in  the  south 
and  all  its  hazy  lines  of  forest,  said — 

"  Ah,  what  is  that  ?  " 

"  That,"  said  Bell,  suddenly  recovering  from  her  trance 
"  is  a  hotel  for  German  princes." 


42  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

She  had  no  sooner  uttered  the  words,  however,  than  she 
looked  thoroughly  alarmed ;  and  with  a  prodigious  shame 
and  mortification  she  begged  the  Count's  pardon,  who 
merely  laughed,  and  said  he  regretted  he  was  not  a  prince. 

"  It  is  Windsor,  is  it  not  ?  "  he  said. 

"  Yes,"  replied  Bell  humbly,  while  her  face  was  still  pained 
and  glowing.  "  I — I  hope  you  will  forgive  my  rudeness  :  I 
think  I  must  have  heard  some  one  say  that  recently,  and  it 
escaped  me  before  I  thought  what  it  meant." 

Of  course,  the  Lieutenant  passed  the  matter  off  lightly, 
as  a  very  harmless  saying  ;  but  all  the  same  Bell  seemed 
determined  for  some  time  after  to  make  him  amends,  and 
quite  took  away  my  Lady's  occupation  by  pointing  out  to 
our  young  Uhlan,  in  a  very  respectful  and  submissive 
manner,  whatever  she  thought  of  note  on  the  road. 
Whether  the  Lieutenant  perceived  this  intention  or  not,  I 
do  not  know  ;  but  at  all  events  he  took  enormous  pains  to 
be  interested  in  what  she  said,  and  paid  far  more  attention 
to  her  than  to  his  own  companion.  Moreover  he  once  or 
twice,  in  looking  back,  pretty  nearly  ran  us  into  a  cart, 
insomuch  that  Queen  Tita  had  laughingly  to  recall  him  to 
his  duties. 

In  this  wise  we  went  down  through  the  sweetly-smelling 
country,  with  its  lines  of  wood  and  hedge  and  its  breadths 
of  field  and  meadow  still  suffering  from  the  gloom  of  a 
darkened  sky.  We  cut  through  the  village  of  Slough, 
passed  the  famous  Salthill,  got  over  the  Two  Mill  Brook  at 
Cuckfield  Bridge,  and  were  rapidly  nearing  Maidenhead, 
where  we  proposed  to  rest  an  hour  or  two  and  dine.  Bell 
had  pledged  her  word  there  would  be  a  bright  evening  ;  and 
had  thrown  out  vague  hints  about  a  boating  excursion  up 
to  the  wooded  heights  of  Cliefden.  In  the  meantime  the 
sun  had  made  little  way  in  breaking  through  the  clouds. 
There  were  faint  indications  here  and  there  of  a  luminous 
greyish-yellow  lying  in  the  interstices  of  the  heavy  sky  ; 
but  the  pale  and  shimmering  comb  in  the  west  had  dis- 
appeared. 

"  What  has  come  over  your  fine  weather,  Bell  ?  "  said  my 
Lady.  "  Do  you  remember  how  you  used  to  dream  of  our 
setting  out,  and  what  heaps  of  colour  and  sunshine  you 
lavished  on  your  picture  ?  " 


OF  A  PHAETON.  43 

"  My  dear,"  said  Bell,  "  you  are  unacquainted  with  the 
art  of  a  stage-manager.  Do  you  think  I  would  begin  my 
pantomime  with  a  glare  of  light,  and  bright  music,  and  a 
splendid  show  of  costume  ?  No  !  First  of  all  comes  the 
dungeon  scene — darkness  and  gloom — thunder  and  solemn 
music — nothing  but  demons  appearing  through  the  smoke  ; 
then,  when  you  have  all  got  impressed  and  terrified  and 
attentive,  you  will  hear  in  the  distance  a  little  sound  of 
melody  ;  there  will  be  a  flutter  of  wings,  just  as  if  the  fairies 
were  preparing  a  surprise  ;  and  then  all  at  once  into  the 
darkness  leaps  the  queen  herself,  and  a  blaze  of  sunlight 
dashes  on  to  her  silver  wings,  and  you  see  her  shining 
costume,  and  the  scarlet  and  gold  of  a  thousand  attendants 
who  are  about  as  wonderful  and  radiant  as  herself." 

"  How  long  have  we  to  wait,  Mademoiselle  ?  "  said  the 
Lieutenant,  seriously. 

"  I  have  not  quite  settled  that,"  replied  Bell,  with  a  fine 
air  of  reflection,  "  but  I  will  see  about  it  while  you  are 
having  dinner." 

Comforted  by  these  promises — which  ought,  however,  to 
have  come  from  Queen  Titania,  if  the  fairies  were  supposed 
to  be  invoked — we  drove  underneath  the  railway-line  and 
past  the  station  of  Taplow,  and  so  forward  to  the  hotel  by 
the  bridge.  When,  having  with  some  exercise  of  patience 
seen  Castor  and  Pollux  housed  and  fed,  I  went  into  the 
parlour,  I  found  dinner  on  the  point  of  being  served,  and  the 
Count  grown  almost  eloquent  about  the  comforts  of  English 
inns.  Indeed,  there  was  a  considerable  difference,  as  he 
pointed  out,  between  the  hard,  bright,  cheery  public-room  of 
a  German  inn,  and  this  long,  low-roofed  apartment,  with  its 
old-fashioned  furniture,  its  carpets,  and  general  air  of  gravity 
and  respectability.  Then  the  series  of  pictures  around  the 
walls — venerable  lithographs,  glazed  and  yellow,  representing 
all  manner  of  wild  adventures  in  driving  and  hunting — 
amused  him  much. 

"  That  is  very  like  your  English  humour,"  he  said,  " — of 
the  country,  I  mean.  The  joke  is  a  man  thrown  into  a 
ditch,  and  many  horses  coming  over  on  him  ;  or  it  is  a 
carriage  upset  in  the  road,  and  men  crawling  from  under- 
neath, and  women  trying  to  get  through  the  window.  It  is 


44  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

rough,  strong,  practical  fun,  at  the  expense  of  unfortunate 
people,  that  you  like." 

"  At  least,"  one  points  out,  "  it  is  quite  as  good  a  sort  of 
public-house  furniture  as  pictures  of  bleeding  saints,  or 
lithographs  of  smooth-headed  princes." 

"  Oh,  I  do  not  object  to  it,"  he  said,  "  not  in  the  least. 
I  do  like  your  sporting  pictures  very  much." 

"  And  when  you  talk  of  German  lithographs,"  struck  in 
Bell,  quite  warmly,  "  I  suppose  you  know  that  it  is  to  the 
German  printsellers  our  poorer  classes  owe  all  the  possession 
of  art  they  can  afford.  They  would  never  have  a  picture  in 
their  house  but  for  those  cheap  lithographs  that  come  over 
from  Germany  ;  and,  although  they  are  very  bad,  and  even 
carelessly  bad  often,  they  are  surely  better  than  nothing  for 
cottages  and  country  inns  that  would  never  otherwise  have 
anything  to  show  but  coarse  patterns  of  wall-paper." 

"  My  dear  child,"  remarked  Queen  Tita,  "  we  are  none  of 
us  accusing  Germany  of  any  crime  whatsoever." 

"  But  it  is  very  good-natured  of  Mademoiselle  to  defend 
my  country,  for  all  that,"  said  the  Lieutenant,  with  a  smile. 
"  We  are  unpopular  with  you  just  now,  I  believe.  That  I 
cannot  help.  It  is  a  pity.  But  it  is  only  a  family  quarrel, 
you  know,  and  it  will  go  away.  And  just  now,  it  requires 
some  courage  to  say  a  word  for  Germany,  yes  ?  " 

"  Why,  Bell  has  been  your  bitterest  enemy  all  through 
the  war,"  said  Tita,  ashamed  of  the  defection  of  her  ancient 
ally. 

"I  think  you  behaved  very  badly  to  the  poor  French 
people,"  said  Bell,  looking  down,  and  evidently  wishing  that 
some  good  spirit  or  bad  one  would  fly  away  with  this 
embarrassing  topic. 

The  spirit  appeared.  There  came  to  the  open  space  in 
front  of  the  inn  a  young  girl  about  fifteen  or  sixteen,  with  a 
careworn  and  yet  healthily-coloured  face,  and  shrewd  blue  eyes. 
She  wore  a  man's  jacket,  and  she  had  a  shillelagh  in  her 
hand,  which  she  twirled  about  as  she  glanced  at  the  windows 
of  the  inn.  Then,  in  a  hard,  cracked  voice,  she  began  to 
sing  a  song.  It  was  supposed  to  be  rather  a  bold  and 
dashing  ballad,  in  which  this  oddly-clad  girl  with  the 
shillelagh  recounted  her  experiences  of  the  opera,  and  told 


OF  A  PHAETON.  45 

us  how  she  loved  champagne,  and  croquet,  and  various  other 
fashionable  diversions.  There  was  something  very  curious 
in  the  forced  gaiety  with  which  she  entered  into  these 
particulars,  the  shillelagh  meanwhile  being  kept  as  still  as 
circumstances  would  permit.  But  presently  she  sang  an 
Irish  song,  describing  herself  as  some  free  and  easy  Irish 
lover  and  fighter  ;  and  here  the  bit  of  wood  came  into  play. 
She  thrust  one  of  her  hands,  with  an  audacious  air,  into  the 
pocket  of  the  jacket  she  wore,  while  she  twirled  the 
shillelagh  with  the  other  ;  and  then,  so  soon  as  she  had 
finished,  her  face  dropped  into  a  plaintive  and  matter-of-fact 
expression,  and  she  came  forward  to  receive  pence. 

"  She  is  scarcely  our  Lorelei,"  said  the  Count,  "  who  sits 
over  the  Rhine  in  the  evening.  But  she  is  a  hard-working 
girl,  you  can  see  that.  She  has  not  much  pleasure  in  life. 
If  we  give  her  a  shilling,  it  will  be  much  comfort  to  her." 

And  with  that  he  went  out.  But  what  was  Tita's  surprise 
to  see  him  go  up  to  the  girl  and  begin  to  talk  to  her  !  She, 
looking  up  to  the  big,  brown-bearded  man  with  a  sort  of 
awe,  answered  his  questions  with  some  appearance  of  shame- 
faced embarrassment  :  and  then,  when  he  gave  her  a  piece  of 
money,  she  performed  something  like  a  curtsey,  and  looked 
after  him  as  he  returned  whistling  to  the  door  of  the  inn. 

Then  we  had  dinner — a  plain,  comfortable,  wholesome 
meal  enough  ;  and  it  seemed  somehow  in  this  old-fashioned 
parlour  that  we  formed  quite  a  family  party.  "VVe  were  cut 
off  at  last  from  the  world  of  friends  and  acquaintances,  and 
thrown  upon  each  other's  society  in  a  very  peculiar  fashion. 
In  what  manner  should  we  sit  down  to  our  final  repast,  after 
all  this  journey  and  its  perils  and  accidents  were  over  ? 
Tita,  I  could  see,  was  rather  grave,  and  perhaps  speculating 
on  the  future  ;  while  Bell  and  the  young  Lieutenant  had 
got  to  talk  of  some  people  they  recollected  as  living  at  Bonn 
some  dozen  years  before.  Nobody  said  a  word  about  Arthur. 


46  THE  STRANGE- ADVENTURES 

CHAPTER  Y. 

QUEEN  TITANIA  AFLOAT. 

"  Say,  Father  Thames,  for  thou  hast  seen 

Full  many  a  sprightly  race, 
Disporting  on  thy  margent  green, 

The  paths  of  pleasure  trace, 
Who  foremost  now  delight  to  cleave 
With  pliant  arm  thy  glassy  wave  ?  " 

AT  length  we  hit  upon  one  thing  that  Count  von  Rosen 
could  not  do.  When  we  had  wandered  down  to  the  side  of 
the  Thames,  just  by  Maidenhead  Bridge,  and  opposite  the 
fine  old  houses,  and  smooth  lawns,  and  green  banks  that 
stand  on  the  other  margin  of  the  broad  and  shallow  river, 
we  discovered  that  "the  Lieutenant  was  of  no  use  in  a  boat. 
And  so,  as  the  young  folks  would  have  us  go  up  under  the 
shadows  of  the  leafy  hills  of  Cliefden,  there  was  nothing  for 
it  but  that  Tita  and  I  should  resort  to  the  habits  of  earlier 
years,  and  show  a  later  generation  how  to  feather  an  oar 
with  skill  and  dexterity.  As  Queen  Titania  stood  by  the 
boat-house,  pulling  off  her  gloves  with  economic  forethought, 
and  looking  rather  pensively  at  the  landing-place  and  the 
boats  and  the  water,  she  suddenly  said— 

"  Is  not  this  like  long  ago  ?  " 

"  You  talk  like  an  old  woman,  Tita,"  observed  one  of  the 
party.  "  And  yet  your  eyes  are  as  pretty  as  they  were  a 
dozen  years  ago,  when  you  used  to  walk  along  the  beach  at 
Eastbourne,  and  cry  because  you  were  afraid  of  becoming 
the  mistress  of  a  house.  And  now  the  house  has  been  too 
much  for  you  ;  and  you  are  full  of  confused  facts,  and 
unintelligible  figures,  and  petty  anxieties  ;  until  your  re- 
sponsibilities have  hidden  away  the  old  tenderness  of  your 
look,  except  at  such  -a  moment  as  this,  when  you  forget 
yourself.  Tita,  do  you  remember  who  pricked  her  finger  to 
sign  a  document  when  she  was  only  a  schoolgirl,  and  who 
produced  it  years  afterwards  with  something  of  a  shame- 
faced pride  ?  " 

"  Stuff  ! "  she  said,  angrily,  but  blushing  dreadfully  all 
the  same  ;  and  so,  with  a  frown  and  an  imperious  manner, 
she  stepped  down  to  the  margin  of  the  river. 


OF  A  PHAETON.  47 

Now  mark  this  circumstance.  In  the  old  days  of  which 
my  Lady  was  then  thinking,  she  used  to  be  very  well 
content  with  pulling  bow-oar  when  we  two  used  to  go  out 
in  the  evenings.  Now,  when  the  Lieutenant  and  Bell  had 
been  comfortably  placed  in  the  stern,  Tita  daintily  stepped 
into  the  boat  and  sat  down  quite  naturally  to  pull  stroke. 
She  made  no  apology.  She  took  the  place  as  if  it  were  hers 
by  right.  Such  are  the  changes  which  a  few  years  of 
married  life  produce. 

So  Bell  pulled  the  white  tiller-ropes  over  her  shoulder,  and 
we  glided  out  and  up  the  glassy  stream,  into  that  world  .  of 
greenness  and  soft  sounds  and  sweet  odours  that  lay  all 
around.  Already  something  of  Bell's  prophecy  was  likely  to 
come  true  ;  for  the  clouds  were  perceptibly  growing  thinner 
overhead,  and  a  diffused  yellow  light  falling  from  no  par- 
ticular place  seemed  to  dwell  over  the  hanging  woods  of 
Cliefden.  It  gave  a  new  look,  too,  to  the  smooth  river,  to 
the  rounded  elms  and  tall  poplars  on  the  banks,  and  to  the 
long  aits  beyond  the  bridge,  where  the  swans  were  sailing 
close  in  by  the  reeds. 

"  Look  out !  "  cried  the  Lieutenant,  suddenly  ;  and  at  the 
same  moment  our  coxswain,  without  a  word  of  warning,  shot 
us  into  a  half-submerged  forest  that  seemed  to  hide  from  us 
a  lake  on  the  other  side.  Tita  had  so  little  time  to  ship  her 
oar  that  no  protest  was  possible  ;  and  then  von  Rosen, 
catching  hold  of  the  branches,  pulled  us  through  the  narrow 
channel,  and  lo  !  we  were  in  a  still  piece  of  water,  with  a 
smooth  curve  of  the  river-bank  on  one  side  and  a  long  island 
on  the  other,  and  with  a  pretty  little  house  looking  quietly 
down  at  us  over  this  inland  sea.  We  were  no  doubt  still 
in  the  Thames ;  but  this  house  seemed  so  entirely  to  have 
become  owner  of  the  charming  landscape  around  and  its 
stretch  of  water  in  front,  that  Bell  asked  in  a  hurry  how 
we  could  get  away.  Tita,  being  still  a  little  indignant, 
answered  not,  but  put  her  oar  into  the  outrigger  again,  and 
commenced  pulling.  And  then  our  coxswain,  who  was  not 
so  familiar  with  the  tricks  of  the  Thames  at  Maidenhead 
as  some  of  us,  discovered  a  north-west  passage  by  which 
it  was  possible  to  return  into  the  main  channel  of  the 
stream,  and  we  continued  our  voyage. 

When,  at  length,  we  had  got  by  the  picturesque  old  mill, 


48  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

and  reached  the  cataract  of  white  water  that  came  rush- 
ing down  from  the  weir,  it  seemed  as  though  the  sky  had 
entered  into  a  compact  with  Bell  to  fulfil  her  predictions. 
For  as  we  lay  and  rocked  in  the  surge — watching  the  long 
level  line  of  foam  come  tumbling  over  in  massive  spouts 
and  jets,  listening  to  the  roar  of  the  fall,  and  regarding 
the  swirling  circles  of  bells  that  swept  away  downward 
on  the  stream — there  appeared  in  the  west,  just  over  the 
line  of  the  weir,  a  parallel  line  of  dark  blood-red.  It  was 
but  a  streak  as  yet ;  but  presently  it  widened  and  grew 
more  intense  ;  a  great  glow  of  crimson  colour  came  shining 
forth  ;  and  it  seemed  as  if  all  the  western  heavens,  just  over 
that  line  of  white  foam,  were  becoming  a  mass  of  fire.  Bell's 
transformation-scene  was  positively  blinding ;  and  the 
bewilderment  of  the  splendid  colours  was  not  lessened  by  the 
roar  of  the  rushing  river,  that  seemed  strangely  wild  in  the 
stillness  of  the  evening. 

But  when  we  turned  to  drop  quietly  down  again,  the 
scene  around  us  was  so  perfect  that  Queen  Titania  had  no 
heart  to  pull  away  from  it.  For  now  the  hanging  woods  of 
beech  and  birch  and  oak  had  caught  a  glow  of  the  sunset 
along  their  masses  of  yellow  and  green  ;  the  broad  stream 
had  the  purple  of  its  glassy  sweeps  dashed  here  and  there 
with  red ;  while  in  the  far  east  a  reflected  tinge  of  pink 
mingled  with  the  cold  green,  and  lay  soft  and  pure  and 
clear  over  the  low  woods,  and  the  river,  and  the  bridge.  As 
if  by  magic  the  world  had  grown  suddenly  light,  ethereal,  and 
full  of  beautiful  colours  ;  and  the  clouds  that  still  remained 
overhead  had  parted  into  long  cirrhous  lines,  with  pearly 
edges,  and  a  touch  of  scarlet  and  gold  along  their  western  side. 

"  What  a  drive  we  shall  have  this  evening  !  "  cried  Boll. 
"  It  will  be  a  clear  night  when  we  get  to  Henley  ;  and  there 
will  be  stars  over  the  river ;  and  perhaps  a  moon — who 
knows  ?  " 

"I  thought  you  would  have  provided  a  moon,  Made- 
moiselle," said  the  Lieutenant,  gravely.  "  You  have  done 
very  well  for  us  this  evening — oh  !  very  well  indeed.  I 
have  not  seen  any  such  beautiful  picture  for  many  years. 
You  did  very  well  to  keep  a  dark  day  all  day,  and  make  us 
tired  of  cold  colours  and  green  trees  ;  and  then  you  surprise 
us  by  this  picture  of  magic — oh  !  it  is  very  well  done," 


OF  A  PHAETON.  j$ 

"  All  that  it  wants,"  said  Bell,  with  a  critical  eye,  "  is  a 
little  woman  in  a  scarlet  shawl  under  the  trees  there — one 
of  those  nice  fat  little  women  who  always  wear  bright  shawls 
just  to  please  landscape-painters — making  a  little  blob  of 
strong  colour,  you  know,  like  a  ladybird  among  green  moss. 
Eeally,  I  am  quite  grateful  to  a  pleasant  little  countrywoman 
when  she  dresses  herself  ridiculously  in  order  to  make  a  land- 
scape look  fine ;  and  how  can  you  laugh  at  her  when  she 
comes  near  ?  I  sometimes  think  that  she  wears  those  colours, 
especially  those  in  her  bonnet,  out  of  mere  modesty.  She 
does  nofc  know  what  will  please  you — she  puts  in  a  little 
of  everything  to  give  you  a  choice.  She  holds  up  to  you 
a  whole  bouquet  of  flowers,  and  says,  '  Please,  Miss,  do  you 
like  blue  ?  for  here  is  corn-cockle  ; — or  red  ?  for  here  are 
poppies  ; — or  yellow  ?  for  here  are  rock-roses.'  She  is  like 
Perdita,  you  know,  going  about  with  an  armful  of  blossoms, 
and  giving  to  everyone  what  she  thinks  will  please  them." 

"  My  dear,"  said  Queen  Tita,  "  you  are  too  generous.  I 
am  afraid  that  the  woman  wears  those  things  out  of  vanity. 
She  does  not  know  what  colour  suits  her  complexion  best, 
and  so  wears  a  variety,  quite  sure  that  one  of  them  must  be 
the  right  one.  And  there  ara  plenty  of  women  in  town,  as 
well  as  in  the  country,  who  do  that  too." 

"  I  hope  you  don't  mean  me,"  said  Bell,  contritely,  as  she 
leaned  her  arm  over  the  side  of  the  boat,  and  dipped  the 
tips  of  her  fingers  into  the  glassy  stream. 

But  if  we  were  to  get  to  Henley  to-night,  there  was  no 
time  for  lingering  longer  about  that  bend  by  the  river,  with 
its  islands  and  mills  and  woods.  The  great  burst  of  colour 
in  the  west  had  been  the  expiring  effort  of  the  sun  ;  and 
when  we  got  back  to  the  inn,  there  was  nothing  left  in  the 
sky  but  the  last  golden  and  crimson  traces  of  his  going 
down.  The  river  was  becoming  grey;  and  the  Cliefden 
woods  were  preparing  for  the  night  by  drawing  over  them- 
selves a  thin  veil  of  mist,  which  rendered  them  distant  and 
shadowy,  under  the  still  lambent  heavens. 

The  phaeton  was  at  the  door  ;  our  bill  paid ;  an  extra 
shawl  got  out  of  the  imperial — although,  in  that  operation, 
the  Lieutenant  nearly  succeeded  in  smashing  Bell's 
guitar. 

"  It  will  be  dark  before  we  get  to  Henley,"  says  Tita.  - 

E 


50  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

"  Yes,"  I  answer  obediently. 

"  And  we  are  going  now  by  cross-roads,"  she  remarks. 

"  The  road  is  a  very  good  one,"  I  venture  to  reply. 

"  But  still  it  is  a  cross-road,"  she  says. 

"  Very  well,  then,  my  dear,"  I  say,  wondering  what  the 
little  woman  is  after. 

"  You  must  drive,"  she  continues,  "  for  none  of  us  know 
the  way." 

"  Yes,  m'm,  please  m'm  :  any  more  orders  ?  " 

"  Oh,  Bell,"  says  my  Lady,  with  a  gracious  air  (she  can 
change  the  expression  of  her  face  in  a  second),  "  would  you 
mind  taking  Count  von  Eosen  under  your  charge  until  we 
get  to  Henley  ?  I  am  afraid  it  will  take  both  of  us  to  find 
the  road  in  the  dark." 

"No,  I  will  take  you  under  my  charge,  Mademoiselle," 
said  the  Lieutenant,  frankly  ;  and  therewith  he  helped  Bell 
into  the  phaeton,  and  followed  himself. 

The  consequence  of  this  little  arrangement  was,  that  while 
Tita  and  I  were  in  front,  the  young  folks  were  behind  :  and 
no  sooner  had  we  started  from  the  inn,  got  across  the 
bridge,  and  were  going  down  the  road  towards  the  village 
of  Maidenhead  proper,  than  Titania  observed,  in  a  very  low 
voice — 

"  Do  you  know,  my  dear,  our  pulling  together  in  that  boat 
quite  brought  back  old  times  ;  and — and — and  I  wanted  to 
be  sitting  up  here  beside  you  for  a  while,  just  to  recall  the 
old,  old  drives  we  used  to  have,  you  know,  about  here, 
and  Henley,  and  Eeading.  How  long  ago  is  it,  do  you 
think  ?  " 

That  wife  of  mine  is  a  wonderful  creature.  You  would 
have  thought  she  was  as  innocent  as  a  lamb  when  she 
uttered  these  words,  looking  up  with  a  world  of  sincerity  and 
pathos  in  the  big,  clear,  earnest,  brown  eyes.  And  the 
courage  of  the  small  creature,  too,  who  thought  she  could 
deceive  her  husband  by  this  open,  transparent,  audacious 
piece  of  hypocrisy  ! 

"  Madam,"  one  answers  her,  with  some  care  that  the  young 
folks  should  not  overhear,  "  your  tenderness  overwhelms  me." 

"  What  do  you  mean  ?  "  she  says,  suddenly  becoming  as 
cold  and  as  rigid  as  Lot's  wife  after  the  accident  happened. 

"  Perhaps,"  I  venture  to  suggest,  "  you  would  like  to 


OF  A  PHAETON.  51 

have  the  hood  up,  and  so  leave  them  quite  alone  ?     Our 
presence  must  be  very  embarrassing." 

"  You  are  insulting  Bell  in  saying  such  things,"  she  says 
warmly  ;  "  or  perhaps  it  is  that  you  would  rather  have  her 
for  a  companion  than  your  own  wife." 
"  Well,  to  tell  you  the  truth,  I  would." 
"  She  shall  not  sit  by  the  Lieutenant  again." 
"  I  hope  you  don't  mean  to  strangle  her.     We  should 
arrive  in  Edinburgh  in  a  sort  of  unicorn-fashion." 

Tita  relapsed  into  a  dignified  silence — that  is  always  the 
way  with  her  when  she  has  been  found  out ;  but  she  was 
probably  satisfied  by  hearing  the  Count  and  Bell  chatting 
very  briskly  together,  thus  testifying  to  the  success  of  her 
petty  stratagem. 

It  was  a  pleasant  drive,  on  that  quiet  evening,  from 
Maidenhead  across  the  lonely  country  that  lies  within  the 
great  curve  of  the  Thames.  Instead  of  turning  off  at  the 
corner  of  Stubbing's  Heath,  and  so  getting  into  the  road 
that  runs  by  Hurley  Bottom,  we  held  straight  on  towards 
Wargrave,  so  as  to  have  the  last  part  of  the  journey  lead  us 
up  by  the  side  of  the  river.  So  still  it  was  !  The  road 
led  through  undulating  stretches  of  common  and  past  the 
edges  of  silent  woods,  while  the  sky  was  becoming  pale  and 
beautiful  overhead,  and  the  heights  on  the  northern  horizon 
— between  Cookham  and  Hurley — were  growing  more  and 
more  visionary  in  the  dusk.  Sometimes,  but  rarely,  we  met 
a  solitary  wanderer  coming  along  through  the  twilight,  and 
a  gruff  "  good-night "  greeted  us ;  but  for  the  most  part 
there  seemed  no  life  in  this  lonely  part  of  the  country, 
where  rabbits  ran  across  the  road  in  front  of  us,  and  the 
last  rooks  that  flew  by  in  the  dusk  seemed  hastening  on  to 
the  neighbourhood  of  some  distant  village.  It  was  a  mild, 
fresh  evening,  with  the  air  still  damp  and  odorous  after  the 
rain  ;  but  overhead  the  sky  still  remained  clear ;  and  here 
and  there,  in  the  partings  of  the  thin  cloud,  a  pale  star  or 
planet  had  became  faintly  visible. 

As  last  we  got  down  into  the  village  of  Wargrave,  and 
then  it  was  nearly  dark.  There  were  a  few  people,  mostly 
women,  standing  at  the  doors  of  the  cottages  ;  and  here  and 
there  a  ray  of  yellow  light  gleamed  out  from  a  small  window. 
As  we  struck  into  the  road  that  runs  parallel  with  the 

E  2 


52  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

Thames,  there  were  men  coming  home  from  their  work  ; 
and  their  talk  was  heard  at  a  great  distance  in  the  stillness 
of  the  night. 

"  How  far  are  we  from  Henley  ?  "  said  Bell. 
"  Are  you  anxious  to  get  there  ?  "  replied  Queen  Titania, 
smiling  quite  benignly. 

"  No,"  said  Bell,  "  this  is  so  pleasant  that  I  should  like  to 
go  driving  on  until  midnight,  and  we  could  see  the  moon 
coming  through  the  trees." 

"  You  have  to  consider  the  horses,"  said  the  Lieutenant, 
bluntly.  "  If  you  do  tire  them  too  much  on  the  first  days, 
they  will  not  go  so  long  a  journey.  But  yet  we  are  some 
way  off,  I  suppose  ;  and  if  Mademoiselle  will  sing  something 
for  us,  I  will  get  out  the  guitar." 

"  You'd  better  get  down  and  light  the  lamps,  rather,"  I 
remark  to  those  indolent  young  people ;  whereupon  the 
Count  was  instantly  in  the  road,  striking  wax  matches,  and 
making  use  of  curious  expressions  that  seemed  chiefly  to 
consist  of  #'s  and  r's. 

So,  with  the  lamps  flaring  into  the  darkness,  we  rolled 
along  the  highway  that  here  skirts  the  side  of  a  series  of 
heights  looking  down  into  the  Thames.  Sometimes  we  could 
see  a  grey  glimmer  of  the  river  beneath  us  through  the 
trees ;  at  other  times  the  road  took  us  down  close  to 
the  side  of  the  water,  and  Castor  got  an  opportunity  of 
making  a  playful  little  shy  or  two  ;  but  for  the  most  part 
we  drove  through  dense  woods,  that  completely  shut  off  the 
starlight  overhead. 

More  than  once,  indeed,  we  came  to  a  steep  descent  that 
was  buried  in  such  total  gloom  that  the  Lieutenant 
jumped  down  and  took  the  horses'  heads,  lest  some  unlucky 
step  or  stumble  should  throw  us  into  the  river.  So  far  as 
we  could  make  out,  however,  there  was  a  sufficient  wall  on 
the  side  of  the  highway  next  the  stream — a  rough  old  wall 
covered  with  plants  and  moss,  that  ran  along  the  high 
and  wooded  bank. 

Suddenly  Bell  uttered  a  cry  of  delight.  We  had  come  to 
a  cleft  in  the  glade  which  showed  us  the  Thames  running  by 
some  sixty  feet  beneath  us  ;  and  on  the  surface  of  the  water 
the  young  crescent  of  the  moon  was  clearly  mirrored. 
There  was  not  enough  moonlight  to  pierce  the  trees,  or 


OF  A  PHAETON.  53 

even  to  drown  the  pale  radiance  of  the  stars  ;  but  the  sharp 
disc  of  silver,  as  it  glimmered  on  the  stream,  was  sufficiently 
beautiful,  and  contained  in  itself  the  promise  of  many  a 
wonderful  night. 

"  It  has  begun  the  journey  with  us,"  said  Bell.  "  It  is  a 
young  moon ;  it  will  go  with  us  all  the  month  ;  and  we 
shall  see  it  on  the  Severn,  and  on  Windennere,  and  on  the 
Solway,  and  on  the  Tweed.  Didn't  I  promise  you  all  a 
moon,  sooner  or  later  ?  And  there  it  is  !  " 

"  It  does  not  do  us  much  good,  Bell,"  observed  the  driver, 
ruefully,  the  very  horses  seeming  afraid  to  plunge  into  the 
gulfs  of  darkness  that  were  spectrally  peered  into  by  the 
light  of  the  lamps. 

"  The  moon  is  not  for  use,"  said  Bell,  "  it  is  for  magic  ; 
and  once  we  have  got  to  Henley,  and  put  the  horses  up, 
and  gone  out  again  to  the  river,  you  shall  all  stand  back 
and  watch  in  a  corner,  and  let  Queen  Titania  go  forward 
to  summon  the  fairies.  And  as  you  listen  in  the  dark,  you 
will  hear  a  little  crackling  and  rustling  along  the  opposite 
shore  ;  and  you  will  see  small  blue  lights  come  out  from  the 
banks  ;  and  small  boats,  with  a  glowworm  at  their  prow, 
come  out  into  the  stream.  And  then  from  the  boats,  and 
from  all  the  fields  near — where  the  mist  of  the  river  lies  at 
night — you  will  see  wonderful  small  men  and  women  of 
radiant  blue  flame  come  forward  ;  and  there  will  be  a  strange 
sound  like  music  in  the  trees  ;  and  the  river  itself  will  begin 
to  say,  in  a  kind  of  laugh,  i  Titania,  Titania  !  you  have  been 
so  long  away — years  and  years — looking  after  servants,  and 
the  schooling  of  loys,  and  the  temper  of  a  fractious 
husband ' " 

"  Bell,  you  are  impertinent." 

"  There  are  true  words  spoken  in  jest,  sometimes,"  re- 
marked Queen  Tita,  with  a  dainty  malice. 

"  Your  bearing  rein  in  England  is  a  cruelty  to  the  horse 
— you  must  take  it  away  to-morrow,"  said  the  Lieutenant  ; 
and  this  continuation  of  a  practical  subject  recalled  these 
scapegraces  from  their  jibes. 

Here  the  road  took  us  down  by  a  gradual  dip  to  the  Thames 
again  ;  and  for  the  last  mile  before  reaching  our  destination 
we  had  a  pleasant  and  rapid  run  along  the  side  of  the 
stream.  Then  the  lights  of  Henley  were  seen  to  glimmer 


54  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

l>efore  us  ;  we  crossed  over  the  bridge  ;  and  swerving  round 
to  the  right,  drove  into  the  archway  of  the  Bell  Inn. 

"  No,  sir,"  remarked  Dr.  Johnson  to  Mr.  Boswell,  "  there 
is  nothing  which  has  yet  been  contrived  bv  man,  by  which 
so  much  happiness  is  produced  as  by  a  good  tavern  or  inn." 
He  then  repeated,  with  great  emotion,  we  are  told, 
Shenstone's  lines — 

"  Whoe'er  has  travelled  life's  dull  round, 

Where'er  his  stages  may  have  been, 
May  sigh  to  think  he  still  has  found 
The  wannest  welcome  at  an  inn." 

And  Mr.  Boswell  goes  on  to  say  :  "  "We  happened  to  lie  this 
night  at  the  inn  at  Henley,  where  Shenstone  wrote  these 
lines."  Now,  surely,  if  ever  belated  travellers  had  reason 
to  expect  a  cordial  welcome,  it  was  we  four  as  we  drove  into 
the  famous  hostelry  which  had  awakened  enthusiasm  in  the 
poets  and  lexicographers  of  bygone  days.  But  as  Castor 
and  Pollux  stood  under  the  archway,  looking  into  the  great 
dark  yard  before  them,  and  as  we  gazed  round  in  vain  for 
the  appearance  of  any  waiter  or  other  official,  it  occurred  to 
Tita  that  the  Bell  Inn  must  have  changed  hands  since 
Shenstone's  time.  Where  was  our  comfortable  welcome  ? 
A  bewildered  maid-servant  came  to  stare  at  our  phaeton 
with  some  alarm.  Plaintive  howls  for  the  ostler  produced 
a  lad  from  the  darkness  of  the  stables,  who  told  us  that  the 
ostler  was  away  somewhere.  Another  maid-servant  came 
out,  and  also  looked  alarmed.  The  present  writer,  fearing 
that  Tony  Lumpkin,  transformed  into  an  invisible  spirit, 
had  played  him  a  trick,  humbly  begged  this  young  woman 
to  say  whether  he  had  driven  by  mistake  into  a  private 
house.  The  young  person  looked  afraid. 

"  My  good  girl,"  said  Tita,  with  a  gracious  condescension, 
"  will  you  tell  us  if  this  is  the  Bell  Inn  ?  " 

"  Yes,  'm  ;  of  course,  'm." 

"  And  can  we  stay  here  to-night  ?  " 

"  I'll  bring  the  waiter,  ma'am,  directly." 

Meanwhile  the  Lieutenant  had  got  down,  and  was  fuming 
about  the  yard  to  rout  out  the  ostler's  assistants,  or  some 
people  who  could  put  up  the  horses.  He  managed  to 
unearth  no  fewer  than  three  men,  whom  he  brought  in  a 


OF  A  PHAETON.  55 

gang.  He  was  evidently  determined  not  to  form  his 
grooming  of  the  horses  at  Twickenham  into  a  precedent. 

At  last  there  came  a  waiter,  looking  rather  sleepy  and  a 
trifle  helpless  ;  whereupon  my  Lady  and  Bell  departed  into 
the  inn,  and  left  the  luggage  to  be  sent  after  them.  There 
appeared  to  be  no  one  inside  the  house.  The  gases  were 
eventually  lit  in  the  coffee-room  ;  some  rugs  and  bags  were 
brought  in  and  placed  upon  the  table  ;  and  then  Tita  and 
her  companion,  not  daring  to  remove  their  bonnets,  sat 
down  in  arm-chairs  and  stared  at  each  other. 

"  I  fly  from  pomp,  I  fly  from  plate ; 

I  fly  from  falsehood's  specious  grin; 
But  risk  a  ten  times  worser  fate 
In  choosing  lodgings  at  an  inn," 

— this  was  what  Bell  repeated,  in  a  gentle  voice,  on  the  very 
spot  that  is  sacred  to  the  memory  of  Shenstone's  satisfac- 
tion. 

I  requested  the  young  man  in  the  white  tie  to  assign  some 
reason  for  this  state  of  affairs ;  and  Ms  answer  was 
immediately  forthcoming.  There  had  been  a  regatta  a  few 
days  before.  The  excitement  in  the  small  town,  and  more 
especially  in  the  "  Bell,"  had  been  dreadful.  Now  a  reaction 
had  set  in ;  Henley  and  the  "  Bell "  were  alike  deserted  ; 
and  we  were  the  victims  of  a  collapse.  I  complimented  the 
waiter  on  his  philosophical  acumen,  and  went  out  to  see 
what  had  befallen  Count  von  Rosen  and  the  horses. 

I  found  him  standing  in  a  stable  that  was  dimly  lighted 
by  a  solitary  candle  stuck  against  the  wall,  superintending 
the  somewhat  amateurish  operations  of  the  man  who  had 
undertaken  to  supply  the  ostler's  place.  The  Lieutenant  had 
evidently  not  been  hectoring  his  companions  ;  on  the 
contrary,  he  was  on  rather  good  terms  with  them,  and  was 
making  inquiries  about  the  familiar  English  names  for 
chopped  hay  and  other  luxuries  of  the  stable.  He  was 
examining  the  corn,  too,  and  pronouncing  opinion  on  the 
split  beans  which  he  had  ordered.  On  the  whole,  he  was 
satisfied  with  the  place  ;  although  he  expressed  his  surprise 
that  the  ostler  of  so  big  an  inn  should  be  absent. 

When,  at  length,  we  had  seen  each  of  the  horses  supplied 
with  an  ample  feed,  fresh  straw,  and  plenty  of  hay,  the  men 


$6  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

were  turned  out  and  the  stable-door  locked.  He  allowed 
them  on  this  occasion  to  keep  the  key.  As  we  crossed  the 
yard,  a  rotund,  frank,  cheery-looking  man  appeared,  who 
was  presumably  the  ostler.  He  made  a  remark  or  two  ;  but 
the  night-air  was  chill. 

"Now,"  said  von  Rosen,  when  we  got  into  the  big 
parlour,  "we  have  to  make  ourselves  pleasant  and  comfort- 
able. I  do  think  we  must  all  drink  whisky.  For 
myself,  I  do  not  like  the  taste  very  much ;  but  it  looks 
very  comfortable  to  see  the  steaming  glasses.  And  I  have 
brought  out  Mademoiselle's  guitar,  and  she  will  sing  us 
some  songs,  yes  ?  " 

"  But  you  must  also,"  answered  Bell,  looking  down. 

"  Oh,  a  hundred  !  a  thousand  !  as  many  as  you  like  !  "  he 
said  ;  and  then,  with  a  sort  of  sigh,  he  took  his  cigar-case 
out  of  his  pocket  and  laid  it  pathetically  on  the  mantelpiece. 
There  was  an  air  of  renunciation  on  his  face.  Forthwith  he 
rang  the  bell ;  and  the  waiter  was  asked  to  bring  us  certain 
liquors  which,  although  not  exclusively  whisky,  could  be 
drunk  in  those  steaming  tumblers  which  the  Lieutenant  loved 
to  see. 

"  0,  come  you  from  Newcastle  ? " 

—this  was  what  Bell  sang,  with  the  blue  ribbon  of  her  guitar 
slung  round  her  neck  : 

"  O,  come  you  from  Newcastle  ? 
Come  you  not  there  away? 
And  did  you  meet  my  true  love, 
Riding  on  a  bonny  bay?" 

And  as  she  sang,  with  her  eyes  cast  down,  the  Lieutenant 
seemed  to  be  regarding  her  face  with  a  peculiar  interest.  He 
forgot  to  lift  the  hot  tumbler  that  was  opposite  him  on  the 
table — he  had  even  forgotten  Tita's  gracious  permission  that 
he  might  have  a  cigar — he  was  listening  and  gazing  merely, 
in  a  blank  silence.  And  when  she  had  finished,  he  eagerly 
begged  her  to  sing  another  of  the  old  English  songs.  And 
she  sang — 

"  O  mistress  mine,  where  are  you  roaming  ? 
O  mistress  mine,  where  are  you  roaming? 
O  stay  and  hear,  your  true  love's  coming, 
That  can  sing  both  high  and  low." 


OF  A  PHAETON.  57 

And  when  she  had  finished,  he  once  more  eagerly  begged  her 
to  sing  another  of  those  old  songs  ;  and  then,  all  of  a  sudden, 
catching  sight  of  a  smile  on  my  Lady's  face,  he  stopped,  and 
apologized,  and  blushed  rather,  and  said  it  was  too  bad — 
that  he  had  forgotten,  and  would  himself  try  something  on 
the  guitar. 

When,  ab  length,  the  women  had  gone  upstairs,  he  fetched 
down  his  cigar  from  the  mantelpiece,  lit  it,  stretched  out  his 
long  legs,  and  said — 

"  How  very  English  she  is  !  " 

"  She  !  who  ?  " 

"  Why,  your  Miss  Bell.  I  do  like  to  hear  her  talk  of 
England  as  if  she  had  a  pride  in  it ;  and  mention  the  names 
of  towns  as  if  she  loved  them  because  they  were  English  ;  and 
speak  of  the  fairies  and  stories  as  if  she  was  familiar  with 
them  because  they  belong  to  her  own  country.  You  can  see 
how  she  is  fond  of  everything  that  is  like  old  times — an  old 
house,  an  old  milestone,  an  old  bridge — everything  that  is 
peculiar  and  old  and  English.  And  then  she  sings,  oh  !  so 
very  well — so  very  well  indeed  ;  and  these  old  songs,  about 
English  places  and  English  customs  of  village-life,  they  seem 
to  suit  her  very  well,  and  you  think  she  herself  is  the  heroine 
of  them.  But  as  for  that  young  man  in  Twickenham,  he  is 
a  very  pitiful  fellow." 

"  How  have  you  suddenly  come  to  that  conclusion  ?  "  I 
inquire  of  our  Lieutenant,  who  is  lazily  letting  the  cigar- 
smoke  curl  about  his  moustache  and  beard  as  he  lies  back 
and  fixes  his  light  blue  eyes  contemplatively  on  the  ceiling. 

"  How  do  I  know  ?  I  do  not  know  :  I  think  so.  He 
ought  to  be  very  well  satisfied  of  knowing  a  young  lady  like 
that — and  very  proud  of  going  to  marry  her — instead  of 
annoying  her  with  bad  tempers." 

"  That  is  true.  A  young  man  under  such  circumstances 
cannot  be  too  grateful  or  too  amiable.  They  are  not  always 
so,  however.  You  yourself,  for  example,  when  you  parted 
from  Fraulein  Fallersleben — 

Here  the  Lieutenant  jumped  up  in  his  chair,  and  said 
with  unnecessary  vehemence — 

"  Donnerwetter  !  look  at  the  provocation  I  had  !  It  was 
not  my  ill-temper ;  I  am  not  more  ill-tempered  than  other 
men  :  but  when  you  know  you  mean  very  well,  and  that  you 


58  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

treat  a  woman  as  perhaps  not  all  men  would  be  inclined  to 
do  in  the  same  case,  and  she  is  a  hypocrite,  and  she  pretends 
much,  and  at  the  same  time  she  is  writing  to  you,  she  is 
— pfui  !  I  cannot  speak  of  it  !  " 

"  You  were  very  fond  of  her." 

"Worse  luck."" 

"  And  you  had  a  great  fight,  and  used  hard  words  to  each 
other,  and  parted  so  that  you  would  rather  meet  Beelzebub 
than  her."  ' 

"  Why,  yes,  it  is  so  :  I  would  rather  meet  twenty 
Beelzebubs  than  her." 

"  That  is  the  way  of  you  boys.  You  don't  know  that  in 
after  years,  when  all  these  things  have  got  smooth  and  misty 
and  distant,  you  will  come  to  like  her  again  ;  and  what  will 
you  think  then  of  your  hard  words  and  your  quarrels  ?  If 
you  children  could  only  understand  how  very  short  youth  is, 
how  very  long  middle  age  is,  and  how  very  dull  old  age  is, 
— if  you  could  only  understand  how  the  chief  occupation  of 
the  longer  half  of  your  life  is  looking  back  on  the  first 
short  half  of  it — you  would  know  the  value  of  storing  up 
only  pleasant  recollections  of  all  your  old  friends.  If  you  find 
that  your  sweetheart  is  a  woman  compelled  by  her  nature  to 
fall  in  love  with  the  man  nearest  her,  and  forget  him  who  is 
out  of  the  way,  why  devote  her  to  the  infernal  gods  ?  In 
after  years,  you  will  be  grateful  to  her  for  the  pleasant  days 
and  weeks  you  spent  with  her,  when  you  were  both  happy 
together ;  and  you  will  look  back  on  the  old  times  very 
tenderly ;  and  then,  on  those  occasions  when  you  German 
folks  drink  to  the  health  of  your  absent  dear  ones,  won't  you 
be  glad  that  you  can  include  her  who  was  dear  enough  to  you 
in  your  youth  ?  " 

"  That  is  very  good  ;  it  is  quite  true,"  said  the  Lieutenant, 
in  almost  an  injured  tone — as  if  Fraulein  Fallersleben  were 
responsible. 

"  Look  for  a  moment,"  I  say  to  my  pensive  pupil,  "  at 
the  pull  a  man  has  who  has  spent  his  youth  in  pleasant 
scenery.  When  he  gets  old,  and  can  do  nothing  better  than 
look  back,  he  has  only  to  shut  his  eyes,  and  his  brain  is 
full  of  fresh  and  bright  pictures  of  the  old  times  in  the 
country ;  and  the  commonest  landscape  of  his  youth  he 
will  remember  then  as  if  it  were  steeped  in  sunlight." 


OF  A  PHAETON.  59 

"  That  is  quite  true,"  said  von  Rosen,  thoughtfully  ;  but 
the  next  moment  he  uttered  an  angry  exclamation,  started  up 
from  his  chair,  and  began  walking  up  and  down  the  room. 

"It  is  all  very  well,"  he  said,  with  an  impatient 
vehemence,  "  to  be  amiable  and  forgiving  when  you  are  old 
— because  you  don't  care  about  it,  that  is  the  reason.  When 
you  are  young,  you  expect  fair  play.  Do  you  think  if  I 
should  be  seventy  I  will  care  one  brass  farthing  whether 
Pauline — that  is,  Fraulein  Fallersleben — was  honest  or  no  ? 
I  will  laugh  at  the  whole  affair  then.  But  now,  when  you 
are  ashamed  of  the  deceit  of  a  woman,  is  it  not  right  you 
tell  her  ?  Is  it  not  right  she  knows  what  honest  men  and 
women  think  of  her,  yes  ?  "What  will  she  think  of  you  if 
you  say  to  her,  '  Farewell,  Fraulein.  You  have  behaved  not 
very  tvell ;  hut  I  am  amiable  ;  I  will  forgive  you?  " 

"  There,  again  :  you  parted  with  her  in  wrath,  because 
you  did  not  like  to  appear  weak  and  complaisant  in  her 
eyes." 

"  At  all  events,  I  said  what  I  felt,"  said  the  Lieutenant, 
warmly.  "  I  do  think  it  is  only  hypocrisy  and  selfishness  to 
say,  '  /  hate  this  woman,  hut  I  ivill  he  kind  to  her,  because 
when  I  grow,  old  I  will  look  hack  and  consider  myself  to  have 
been  very  good?  " 

"  You  have  been  deeply  hit,  my  poor  lad  ;  you  are  quite 
fevered  about  it  now.  You  cannot  even  see  how  a  man's 
own  self-respect  will  make  him  courteous  to  a  woman  whom 
he  despises  ;  and  is  he  likely  to  be  sorry  for  that  courtesy, 
when  he  looks  at  it  in  cold  blood,  and  recognizes  the 
stupendous  fact  that  the  man  who  complains  of  the  incon- 
stancy of  a  woman  utters  a  reflection  against  Providence  ?  " 

"  But  you  don't  know — you  don't  know,"  said  the  Count, 
pitching  the  end  of  his  cigar  into  the  grate,  "  what  a  woman 
this  one  showed  herself  to  be.  After  ah1,  it  does  not  matter. 
But  when  I  look  at  such  a  woman  as  your  Miss  Bell 
here " 

"  Yes  :  when  you  look  at  her  ?  " 

"  Why,  I  see  the  difference,"  said  the  Lieutenant, 
gloomily  ;  and  therewith  he  pulled  out  another  cigar. 

I  stopped  this,  however,  and  rang  for  candles.  As  he  lit 
his  in  rather  a  melancholy  fashion,  he  said — 

"  It  is  a  very  good  thing  to  see  a  woman  like  that — young- 


60  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

hearted,  frank,  honest  in  her  eyes,  and  full  of  pleasantness, 
too,  and  good  spirits — oh  !  it  is  very  fine  indeed,  merely  to 
look  at  her  ;  for  you  do  believe  that  she  is  a  very  good  girl, 
and  you  think  there  are  good  women  in  the  world.  But  as 
for  that  young  man  at  Twickenham " 

"Well,  what  of  him?" 

The  Lieutenant  looked  up  from  the  candle  ;  but  saw 
nothing  to  awaken  his  suspicions. 

"  Oh,"  he  said  carelessly,  as  we  left  the  room,  "  I  do  think 
him  a  most  pitiful  fellow." 


CHAPTER  VI. 

A   GIFT    OF  TONGUES. 

"  My  lady  is  an  archer  rare, 

And  in  the  greenwood  joyeth  she ; 
There  never  was  a  marksman  yet  who  could  compare 
In  skill  with  my  ladie." 

EARLY  morning  in  Henley  !  From  over  the  wooded  hills 
in  the  east  there  comes  a  great  flood  of  sunshine  that  lies 
warmly  on  the  ruddy  side  of  the  old  inn,  on  its  evergreens, 
and  on  the  slopes  of  sweet-scented  mignonette,  and  sweet- 
briar,  and  various  blossoms  that  adorn  the  bank  of  the  river. 
The  river  itself,  lying  apparently  motionless  between  level 
meadows,  has  its  blue  surface  marred  here  and  there  by  a 
white  ripple  of  wind  ;  the  poplars  that  stand  on  its  banks 
are  rustling  in  the  breeze  ;  there  are  swallows  dipping  and 
skimming  about  the  old  bridge ;  and  ducks  paddling  along 
among  the  rushes  and  weeds  ;  and  cattle  browsing  in  the 
deep  green  ;  and  further  on,  some  high-lying  stretches  of 
rye-grass  struck  into  long  and  silvery  wraves  by  the  succes- 
sive gusts. 

All  the  stir  and  motion  of  the  new  day  have  come  upon 
us  ;  and  Henley,  clean,  white,  and  red,  with  its  town- hall 
shining  brightly  down  its  chief  street,  and  all  its  high 
clusters  of  old-fashioned  houses  backed  by  a  fringe  of  dark- 
wooded  hill,  shows  as  much  life  and  briskness  as  are  usually 
seen  in  a  quaint,  small,  old-fashioned  English  town.  But 
where  the  silence  and  the  stillness  of  the  morning  dwell  is 


OF  A  PHAETON.  61 

away  up  the  reach  of  the  river.  Standing  on  the  bridge, 
you  see  the  dark  blue  stream,  reflecting  a  thousand  bright 
colours  underneath  the  town,  gradually  become  paler  in  hue 
until  it  gets  out  amid  the  meadows  and  woods  ;  and  then, 
with  a  bold  white  curve,  that  gleams  as  if  it  were  some  silver 
scythe,  it  sweeps  under  the  line  of  low,  soft  hills  which 
have  grown  pearly  and  grey  in  the  tender  morning  mist. 
Bell  is  standing  on  the  bridge,  too.  The  Lieutenant  has 
brought  out  her  sketch-book,  and  she  has  placed  it  on  the 
stone  parapet  before  her.  But  somehow  she  seems  dis- 
inclined to  begin  work  thus  early  on  our  journey  ;  and, 
instead,  her  eyes  are  looking  blankly  and  wistfully  at  the 
rich  meadows,  and  the  red  cows,  and  the  long  white  reach 
of  the  river  shining  palely  beneath  the  faint  green  heights 
in  the  north. 

"  Is  Henley  the  prettiest  town  in  the  world,  I  wonder  ?  " 
she  said. 

"  Yes,  if  you  think  so,  Mademoiselle,"  replied  von  Rosen, 
gently. 

She  lifted  her  eyes  towards  him,  as  though  she  had  been 
unaware  of  his  presence.  Then  she  turned  to  the  Thames. 

"  I  suppose,  if  one  were  to  live  always  among  those  bright 
colours,  one  would  get  not  to  see  them,  and  would  forget 
how  fine  is  this  old  bridge,  with  the  pretty  town,  and  the 
meadows,  and  the  stream.  Seeing  it  only  once,  I  shall 
never  forget  Henley,  or  the  brightness  of  this  morning." 

With  that,  she  closed  her  sketch-book,  and  looked  round 
for  Tita.  That  small  person  was  engaged  in  making  herself 
extremely  wretched  about  her  boys  and  the  pony  ;  and  was 
becoming  vastly  indignant  because  she  could  get  no  one  to 
sympathise  with  her  wild  imaginings  of  diverse  perils  and 
dangers. 

"  Why,  to  hear  you  talk,"  she  was  saying  at  this  moment, 
"  one  would  think  you  had  never  experienced  the  feelings  of 
a  parent — that  you  did  not  know  you  were  the  father  of 
those  two  poor  boys." 

"  But  for  the  sake  of  argument,  if  you  wish  to  argue,  we 
will  grant  the  assumption." 

"  Very  pretty — very  !  "  she  said  with  a  contemptuous 
smile.  "  And  I  will  say  this — that  if  you  had  had  to  buy 
the  pony,  the  boys  would  have  had  to  wait  long  enough 


62  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

before  they  were  exposed  to  the  dangers  you  think  so  little 
about  now." 

"  Madam,"  I  observe,  sternly,  "  you  are  the  victim  of 
what .  theologians  call  invincible  ignorance.  I  might  have 
bought  that  pony  and  all  its  belongings  for  a  20?.  note  ; 
whereas  I  shall  have  to  pay  40/.  a  year  for  its  keep." 

"  Oh,  I  know,"  says  my  Lady,  with  great  sweetness,  "  how 
men  exaggerate  those  things.  It  is  convenient.  They 
complain  of  the  cost  of  the  horses,  of  the  heaviness  of  the 
taxes,  and  other  things  ;  when  the  real  fact  is  that  they  are 
trying  to  hide  what  they  spend  out  of  their  income  on  cigars, 
and  in  their  clubs  when  they  go  to  town.  I  counted  up  our 
taxes  the  other  day,  and  I  don't  believe  that  they  have  been 
over  121.  for  the  whole  of  the  last  six  months.  Now  you 
know  you  said  they  were  nearly  55?.  a  year." 

"  And  you  counted  in  those  that  are  due  next  week,  I 
presume  ?  " 

"  Did  you  leave  money  to  pay  for  them  ? "  she  asks, 
mildly. 

"  And  you  based  your  calculations  on  some  solitary 
instalment  for  armorial  bearings  ? — which  you  brought  into 
the  family,  you  know." 

"  Yes,"  she  replies,  with  an  engaging  smile.  "  That  was 
one  thing  you  did  not  require  before — I  am  sorry  to  have 
caused  you  so  much  expense.  But  you  need  not  avoid  the 
subject.  Mrs.  Quinet  told  me  last  week  that  she  knows  her 
husband  pays  every  year  65/.  for  club-subscriptions,  alone, 
and  nearly  SOL  for  cigars." 

"  Then  Mrs.  Quinet  must  have  looked  into  your  eyes,  my 
dear,  and  seen  what  an  innocent  little  thing  you  are  ;  for 
your  knowledge  of  housekeeping  and  other  expenses,  I  will 
say,  is  as  slight  as  need  be  ;  and  Mrs.  Quinet  has  been  simply 
making  a  fool  of  you.  The  Major  belongs  to  two  clubs, 
and  in  the  one  he  pays  eight  guineas  and  in  the  other  ten 
guineas  a  year.  And  he  smokes  Manillas  at  25s.  a  hundred, 
which  is  equivalent,  my  dear — though  you  will  scarcely 
credit  it — to  threepence  apiece." 

"  The  money  must  go  somehow,"  says  Tita,  defiantly. 
"  That  is  a  customary  saying  among  women ;    but  it 
generally  refers  to  their  own  little  arrangements." 
"  You  avoid  the  question  very  skilfully." 


OF  A  PHAETON.  63 

"  I  should  have  thought  you  would  have  preferred  that." 

"  "Why  ?  "  she  says,  looking  up. 

"  Because  you  accused  me  of  stinginess  in  not  buying  a 
pony  for  the  boys  ;  and  I  showed  you  that  I  should  have  to 
pay  40/.  a  year  for  the  brute." 

"  Yes,  showed  me  !  I  suppose  by  that  pleasing  fiction 
you  will  gain  another  20?.  a  year  to  spend  on  Partagas,  and 
Murias,  and  trumpery  stuff  that  the  tobacconists  tell  you 
comes  from  abroad." 

"  My  dear,"  I  say,  "  your  insolence  is  astounding." 

"  If  you  call  speaking  the  plain  truth  insolence,  I  cannot 
help  it.  Bell,  breakfast  must  be  ready." 

"  Yes,  my  Lady,"  says  Bell,  coming  forward  demurely. 
"  But  I  wasn't  doing  anything." 

So  they  go  off  ;  and  the  Count  and  I  follow. 

"  What  is  the  matter  ?  "  says  he. 

"  Do  you  know  what  a  '  relish  '  is  at  breakfast  ?  " 

"  No." 

"  Then  don't  marry,  or  you  will  find  out." 

The  tall  young  man  with  the  brown  beard  and  the  light 
eyes  shrugged  his  shoulders,  and  only  said,  as  we  walked  to 
the  inn — 

"  That  is  a  very  pleasant  comedy,  when  it  means  nothing. 
If  it  was  earnest,  you  would  not  find  so  much  enjoyment  in 
it — no,  not  at  all — you  would  not  amuse  yourselves,  like  two 
children,  instead  of  the  parents  of  a  family.  But,  my  dear 
friend,  it  is  a  dangerous  thing  ;  for  some  day  you  will  meet 
with  a  stupid  person,  who  will  not  understand  how  Madame 
and  yourself  do  make-believe  in  that  way  ;  and  that  person 
will  be  astonished,  and  will  talk  of  it,  and  you  will  both 
have  a  very  bad  reputation  among  your  friends." 

However,  there  was  one  amiable  creature  at  the  breakfast- 
table,  and  that  was  our  pretty  Bell. 

"  Bell,"  I  said,  "  I  am  going  to  sit  by  you.  You  never 
provoke  useless  quarrels  about  nothing  ;  you  are  never 
impertinent ;  you  never  argue  ;  and  you  can  look  after  a 
breakfast-table  better  than  people  twice  your  age." 

Bell  prudently  pretended  not  to  hear ;  indeed,  she  was 
very  busy  helping  everybody  and  making  herself  very  useful 
and  pleasant  all  round.  She  seemed  to  have  forgotten  her 
independent  ways ;  and  was  so  good-naturedly  anxious  to 


64  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

see  that  the  Lieutenant's  coffee  was  all  right,  that  he  was 
apparently  quite  touched  by  her  friendliness.  And  then  she 
was  very  cheerful,  too  ;  and  was  bent  on  brightening  up  the 
spirits  of  the  whole  party — but  in  a  dexterous,  submissive, 
pliant  fashion  that  the  audacious  young  lady  did  not  always 
affect. 

"  Did  you  hear  the  cocks  crowing  this  morning  ?  "  she 
said,  turning  to  von  Rosen  with  her  frank  eyes.  "  I  thought 
it  was  so  pleasant  to  be  woke  up  that  way  instead  of  listening 
to  the  milkman  coming  along  a  dismal  London  square,  and 
calling  up  the  maidservants  with  his  '  El-cho  !  '  '  El-cho  ! ' 
But  did  you  notice  that  one  of  the  cocks  cried  quite  plainly, 
'  Oh,  go  away  I '  *  Oh,  go  awa-a-ay  !  ' — which  was  a  stupid 
animal  to  have  near  an  inn  ;  and  another  fine  fellow,  who 
always  started  with  a  famous  flourish,  had  got  a  cold,  and  at 
the  highest  note  he  went  off  at  a  tangent  into  something 
like  a  plaintive  squeak.  The  intention  of  that  crow,  so  far 
as  it  went,  was  far  better  than  the  feeble  '  Oh,  go  aivay  ! '  of 
the  other  ;  and  I  was  quite  sorry  for  the  poor  animal. — Do 
have  some  more  toast,  Count. — He  reminded  me  of  poor 
Major  Quinet,  Tita,  who  begins  a  sentence  very  well ;  but 
all  at  once  it  jerks  up  into  the  air — goes  off  like  a  squib, 
you  know,  just  below  his  nose  ;  and  he  looks  amazed  and 
ashamed,  like  a  boy  that  has  let  a  bird  escape  out  of  a 
bag." 

"  You  need  not  amuse  yourself  with  the  personal  defects 
of  your  neighbours,  Bell,"  said  Tita,  who  did  not  expect  to 
have  Major  Quinet  brought  forward  again.  "  Major  Quinet 
is  a  very  well-informed  and  gentlemanly  man,  and  looks 
after  his  family  and  his  estate  with  the  greatest  care." 

"  I  must  say,  Tita,"  retorted  Bell  (and  I  trembled  for  the 
girl), "  that  you  have  an  odd  trick  of  furnishing  people  with 
a  sort  of  certificate  of  character,  whenever  you  hear  their 
names  mentioned.  Yery  likely  the  Major  can  manage  his 
affairs  in  spite  of  his  cracked  voice  ;  but  you  know  you  told 
me  yourself,  Tita,  that  he  had  been  unfortunate  in  money 
matters,  and  was  rather  perplexed  just  now.  Of  course,  I 
wouldn't  say  such  a  thing  of  one  of  your  friends ;  but  I 
have  heard  of  bankrupts  ;  and  I  have  heard  of  a  poor  little 
man  being  so  burdened  with  debt,  that  he  lookedjilike  a 
mouse  drawing  a  brougham,  and  then,  of  course,  he  had  to 


OF  A  PHAETON.  65 

go  into  the  Court  to  'ask  them  to  unharness  him. — Do  have 
some  more  coffee,  Count ;  I  am  sure  that  is  quite  cold." 

"  You  ought  to  be  a  little  careful,  Bell,"  says  my  Lady. 
"  You  know  absolutely  nothing  of  Major  Quinet  ;  and  yet 
you  hint  that  he  is  insolvent." 

"  I  didn't — did  I  ?  "  says  Bell,  turning  to  her  companion. 

"  No,"  replies  the  Count  boldly. 

At  this  Tita  looked  astonished  for  a  second  ;  but  presently 
she  deigned  to  smile,  and  say  something  about  the  wicked- 
ness of  young  people.  Indeed,  my  Lady  seemed  rather 
pleased  by  Bell's  audacity  in  appealing  to  the  Lieutenant ; 
and  she  was  in  a  better  humour  when,  some  time  after,  we 
went  out  to  the  river  and  got  a  boat. 

Once  more  upon  the  Thames,  we  pulled  up  the  river,  that 
lies  here  between  wooded  hills  on  the  one  side,  and  level 
meadows  on  the  other.  The  broad  blue  stream  was  almost 
deserted  ;  and  as  we  got  near  the  green  islands,  we  could  see 
an  occasional  young  moorhen  paddle  out  from  among  the 
rushes,  and  then  go  quickly  in  again,  with  its  white  tail 
bobbing  in  unison  with  its  small  head  and  beak.  We  rowed 
into  the  sluice  of  the  mill  that  lies  under  Park  Place  ;  and 
there,  having  floated  down  a  bit  under  some  willows,  we  fixed 
the  boat  to  a  stump  of  a  tree,  landed,  and  managed  to  get 
into  the  road  along  which  we  had  driven  the  previous  night. 
As  we  ascended  this  pleasant  path,  which  is  cut  through 
the  grounds  of  various  mansions,  and  looks  down  upon 
the  green  level  of  Wargrave  Marsh  and  the  shining  meadows 
beyond  the  other  bank  of  the  river,  the  ascents  and  descents 
of  the  road  seemed  less  precipitous  than  they  had  appeared 
the  night  before.  "What  we  had  taken,  further,  for  wild 
masses  of  rock,  and  fearful  chasms,  and  dangerous  bridges, 
were  found  to  be  part  of  the  ornamentation  of  a  park — the 
bridge  spanning  a  hollow  having  been  built  of  sham  rock- 
work,  which,  in  the  daylight,  clearly  revealed  its  origin. 
Nevertheless,  this  road  leading  through  the  river-side  woods 
is  a  sufficiently  picturesque  and  pleasant  one ;  and  in 
sauntering  along  for  a  mile  or  two  and  back  we  consumed 
a  goodly  portion  of  the  morning.  Then  there  was  a 
brisk  pull  back  to  Henley  ;  and  the  phaeton  was  summoned 
to  aear. 

the  horses  were  put  to,  and  the  phaeton  brought 

F 


66  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

along,  I  found  that  von  Rosen  had  quietly  abstracted  the 
bearing-reins  from  the  harness,  some  time  during  the 
morning.  However,  no  one  could  grudge  the  animals  this 
relief,  for  the  journey  they  had  to  make  to-day,  though  not 
over  twenty-three  miles,  was  considerably  hilly. 

Now  Queen  Tita  had  come  early  out,  and  had  evidently 
planned  a  nice  little  arrangement.  She  got  in  behind. 
Then  she  bade  Bell  get  up  in  front.  The  Lieutenant  had 
lingered  for  a  moment  in  search  of  a  cigar-case  ;  and  my 
Lady  had  clearly  determined  to  ask  him  to  drive  so  soon  as 
he  appeared.  But,  as  she  had  not  expressed  any  contrition 
for  her  conduct  of  that  morning,  some  punishment  was 
required  ;  and  so,  just  as  von  Eosen  came  out,  I  took  the 
reins,  stepped  up  beside  Bell,  and  he,  of  course,  was  left  to 
join  the  furious  little  lady  behind. 

"  I  thought  the  Count  was  going  to  drive,"  says  Tita, 
with  a  certain  cold  air.  "  Surely  the  road  to  Oxford  is  easy 
to  find." 

"  It  is,"  I  say  to  her.  "  For  you  know  all  roads  lead  to 
Eome,  and  they  say  that  Oxford  is  half-way  to  Kome — 
argal " 

But  knowing  what  effect  this  reference  to  her  theological 
sympathies  was  likely  to  have  on  Tita,  I  thought  it  prudent 
to  send  the  horses  on ;  and  as  they  sprang  forward  and 
rattled  up  the  main  street  of  Henley,  her  retort,  if  any,  was 
lost  in  the  noise.  There  was  a  laugh  in  Bell's  eyes  ;  but  she 
seemed  rather  frightened  all  the  same,  and  said  nothing  for 
some  time. 

The  drive  from  Henley  to  Oxford  is  one  of  the  finest  in 
England,  the  road  leading  gradually  up  through  pleasant 
pastures  and  forest  land  until  it  brings  you  on  to  a  common 
— the  highest  ground  south  of  the  Trent — from  which  you 
see  an  immeasurable  wooded  plain  stretching  away  into  the 
western  horizon.  First  of  all,  as  we  left  Henley  on  that 
bright  morning,  the  sweet  air  blowing  coolly  among  the 
trees,  and  bringing  us  odours  from  wild  flowers  and  fields 
of  new-mown  hay,  we  leisurely  rolled  along  what  i& 
appropriately  called  the  Fair  Mile,  a  broad  smooth  highway 
running  between  Lambridge  Wood  and  No  Man's  Hill,  and 
having  a  space  of  grassy  common  on  each  side  of  it.  This 
brought  us  to  Assenton  Cross,  and  here,  the  ascent  getting 


OF  A  PHAETON.  67 

much  more  stiff,  Bell  took  the  reins,  and  the  Count  and  I 
walked  up  the  hill  until  we  reached  Bix  Turnpike. 

"  What  a  curious  name  ! "  said  Bell,  as  she  pulled  the 
horses  up  for  a  moment. 

"  Most  likely,"  said  the  Lieutenant,  who  was  looking  at 
an  ancient  edition  of  Gary's  Itinerary,  "  it  is  from  the  old 
Saxon  lece,  the  beech-tree,  which  is  plentiful  here.  But  in 
this  book  I  find  it  is  Bixgibwen,  which  is  not  in  the  modern 
books.  Now  what  is  gibwen  ?  " 

"  St.  Caedwyn,  of  course,"  said  Bell,  merrily. 

"  You  laugh,  but  perhaps  it  is  true,"  replied  the  Lieutenant, 
with  the  gravity  befitting  a  student :  "  why  not  St.  Caedwyn's 
beeches  ?  You  do  call  many  places  about  here  by  the  trees. 
There  is  Assenton  ;  that  is  the  place  of  ash-trees.  We  shall 
soon  be  at  Nettlebed  ;  and  then  comes  Nuffield,  which  is 
Nut-field, — how  do  you  call  your  wildnut-tree  in  England  ?  " 

"  The  hazel,"  said  Bell,  as  we  went  on  again.  "  But  that 
is  common-place  ;  I  like  the  discovery  about  St.  Caedwyn's 
beeches  better  :  and  here,  sure  enough,  they  are." 

The  road  at  this  point — something  less  than  a  mile  past 
Bix  turnpike — plunges  into  a  spacious  forest  of  beeches, 
which  stretches  along  the  summit  of  the  hill  almost  on  to 
Nettlebed.  And  this  road  is  bordered  by  a  strip  of  common 
which  again  leads  into  a  tangled  maze  of  bracken  and  briar  ; 
and  then  you  have  the  innumerable  stems  of  the  beeches, 
showing  long  vistas  into  the  green  heart  of  the  wood.  The 
sunlight  was  shimmering  down  on  this  wilderness,  lying 
warmly  on  the  road  and  its  green  margin,  and  piercing  here 
and  there  with  golden  arrows  the  dense  canopy  of  leaves 
beyond.  High  as  we  were  the  light  breeze  was  shut  off  by 
the  beeches  ;  and  in  the  long  broad  cleft  in  which  the  road 
lay  the  air  was  filled  with  resinous  odours,  that  of  the 
tall  and  abundant  brackens  prevailing.  An  occasional  jay 
fled  screaming  down  between  the  smooth  grey  branches, 
giving  us  a  glimpse  of  white  and  blue  as  it  vanished  ;  but 
otherwise  there  seemed  to  be  no  birds  about ;  and  the  wild 
underwood  and  long  alleys  lay  still  and  silent  in  the  green 
twilight  of  the  leaves. 

"  It  is  very  like  the  Black  Forest,  I  think,"  said  the 
Lieutenant. 

"  Oh,  it  is  much  lighter  in  colour,"  cried  Bell.  "  Look  at 

F  2 


68  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

all  those  silver-greys  of  the  stems  and  the  lichens,  and  the 
clear  green  overhead,  and  the  light  browns  and  reds  beneath, 
where  the  sunlight  shines  down  through  a  veil.  It  is  lighter, 
prettier,  more  cheerful  than  your  miles  of  solemn  pines,  with 
the  great  roads  cut  through  them  for  the  carts,  and  the 
gloom  and  stillness  underneath  where  there  is  no  growth  of 
underwood,  but  only  level  beds  of  green  moss,  dotted  with 
dropped  cones." 

"  You  have  a  very  accurate  eye  for  colours,  Mademoiselle  ; 
no  wonder  you  paint  so  well,"  was  all  that  the  Lieutenant 
said.  But  Tita  warmly  remonstrated  with  Bell. 

"You  know,  Bell,"  she  said,  "that  all  the  Black  Forest 
is  not  like  that ;  there  is  every  variety  of  forest-scenery 
there.  And  pray,  Miss  Criticism,  where  were  the  gloomy 
pines  and  the  solemn  avenues  in  a  certain  picture  which  was 
sold  at  the  Dudley  last  year  for  twenty-five  solid  English 
sovereigns  ? " 

"  You  needn't  tell  Count  von  Rosen  what  my  income  is," 
said  Bell.  "  I  took  two  months  to  paint  that  picture." 

"  That  is  a  very  good  income,"  said  the  Lieutenant,  with 
a  smile. 

"I  do  not  like  people  with  large  incomes,"  said  Bell, 
dexterously  avoiding  that  part  of  the  subject.  "  I  think 
they  must  have  qualms  sometimes,  or  else  be  callous.  Now 
I  would  have  everybody  provided  with  a  certain  income,  say 
200?.  a  year  ;  but  I  would  not  like  to  prevent  all  competi- 
tion ;  and  so  I  would  fix  an  income  at  which  all  people  must 
stop.  They  might  strive  and  strive  if  they  liked,  just  like 
bells  of  air  in  a  champagne  glass,  you  know  ;  but  they  should 
only  be  able  to  reach  a  certain  level  in  the  end.  I  would 
have  nobody  with  more  than  a  1,000?.  a  year  ;  that  would 
be  my  maximum." 

"  A  thousand  a  year  !  "  exclaimed  Tita.  "  Isn't  a  thou- 
sind  ten  hundred  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  Bell,  after  a  second's  calculation. 

"  And  suppose  you  have  one  hundred  to  pay  for  two 
boys  at  school,  and  three  hundred  for  rent,  and  another 
hundred  for  the  keep  of  two  horses,  and  a  hundred  and 
fifty  for  servants'  wages " 

"  Perhaps,  Tita,"  I  suggested  in  the  meekest  possible  way, 
"  you  might  as  well  tell  Count  von  Rosen  what  you  pay  for 


OF  A  PHAETON.  69 

a  leg  of  mutton,  so  that  when  he  next  comes  to  dine  with  us 
he  may  feel  himself  all  the  more  at  home." 

It  is  well  that  the  lightning  which  is  said  to  dart  from 
women's  eyes  is  a  harmless  sort  of  thing — a  flash  in  the  pan, 
as  it  were,  which  is  very  pretty,  but  sends  no  deadly  lead 
out.  However,  as  Queen  Tita  had  really  behaved  herself 
very  well  since  we  set  out  from  Henley,  I  begged  Bell  to 
stop  and  let  us  in,  and  then  I  asked  the  Lieutenant  if  he 
would  drive. 

By  this  time  we  had  walked  the  horses  nearly  to  the  end 
of  the  pleasant  stretch  of  beechwood,  which  is  about  a  mile 
and  a  half  long  ;  and  before  us  was  a  bit  of  breezy  common 
and  the  village  of  Nettlebed.  Von  Eosen  took  the  reins  and 
sent  the  animals  forward.  * 

"  Why  did  you  not  continue  to  drive  ? "  said  Tita,  rather 
timidly,  when  I  had  taken  my  seat  beside  her. 

"  Because  we  shall  presently  have  to  go  down  steep  hills  : 
and  as  the  Count  took  off  the  bearing-reins  this  morning,  we 
may  as  well  hold  him  responsible  for  not  letting  the  horses 
down." 

"  I  thought  perhaps  you  wanted  to  sit  beside  me,"  she 
said,  in  a  low  voice. 

"  Well,  now  you  mention  it,  my  dear,  that  was  the 
reason." 

"It  would  have  been  a  sufficient  reason  a  good  many 
years  ago,"  she  said,  with  a  fine  affectation  of  tenderness  ; 
"  but  that  is  all  over  now.  You  have  been  very  rude  to 
me." 

"  Then  don't  say  anything  more  about  it  :  receive  my 
forgiveness,  Tita." " 

"  That  was  not  the  way  you  used  to  speak  to  me  when  we 
were  at  Eastbourne,"  she  said  ;  and  with  that  she  looked 
very  much  as  if  she  were  going  to  cry.  Of  course  she  was 
not  going  to  cry.  She  has  liad  the  trick  of  looking  like  that 
from  her  youth  upward  ;  but  as  it  is  really  about  as  pretty 
and  pathetic  as  the  real  thing,  it  invariably  answers  the 
same  purpose.  It  is  understood  to  be  a  signal  of  surrender, 
a  sort  of  appeal  for  compassion  ;  and  so  the  rest  of  this 
conversation,  being  of  a  quite  private  nature,  need  not  be 
made  public. 

The  Count  was  taking  us  at  a  brisk  pace  across  the  bit  of 


70  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

common  ;  and  then  we  rattled  into  the  little  clump  of  red- 
brick houses  which  forms  the  picturesque  village  of  Nettle- 
bed.  Now  if  he  had  been  struck  with  some  recollection  of 
the  Black  Forest  on  seeing  Nettlebed  Wood,  imagine  his 
surprise  on  finding  the  little  inn  in  the  village  surmounted 
by  a  picture  of  a  white  deer  with  a  royal  crown  on  its  head, 
a  fair  resemblance  to  the  legendary  creature  that  appeared 
to  St.  Hubertus,  and  that  figures  in  so  many  of  the  Schwarz- 
wald  stories  and  pictures.  However,  we  were  out  of  Nettle- 
bed  before  he  could  properly  express  his  astonishment ;  and 
in  the  vast  picture  that  was  now  opening  out  before  us  there 
was  little  that  was  German. 

"We  stopped  on  the  summit  of  Nuffield  Heath,  and  found 
below,  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach,  the  great  and  fertile 
plain  of  Berkshire,  with  a  long  and  irregular  line  of  hill 
shutting  it  in  on  the  south.  In  this  plain  of  Fields  as  they 
are  called — Wallingford  Field,  Didcot  Field,  Long  Whitten- 
ham  Field,  and  so  on — small  villages  peeped  out  from  among 
the  green  woods  and  pastures,  where  a  faint  blue  smoke  rose 
up  into  the  sunshine.  Here,  as  Bell  began  to  expound — for 
she  had  been  reading  "  The  Scouring  of  the  White  Horse  " 
and  various  other  books  to  which  that  romantic  monograph 
had  directed  her — some  notable  things  had  happened  in  the 
olden  time.  Along  that  smooth  line  of  hill  in  the  south — 
now  lying  pale  in  the  haze  of  the  light — the  Romans  had 
cut  a  road  which  is  still  called  the  Ridgeway  or  Iccleton 
Street  ;  and  in  the  scattered  villages,  from  Pangbourne 
in  the  south-east  to  Shellingford  in  the  north-west,  traces  of 
the  Roman  occupation  have  been  frequently  found.  Then, 
underneath  that  blue  ridge  of  hill  and  down  lay  Wantage, 
in  which  King  Alfred  was  born  ;  and  further  on  the  ridge 
itself  becomes  Dragon's  Hill,  where  St.  George  slew  the 
beast  that  ravaged  this  fair  land  ;  and  there,  as  all  men 
know,  is  the  figure  of  the  White  Horse  cut  on  the  slope  to 
commemorate  the  great  battle  of  Ashdown. 

"  And  Ashdown,  is  that  there  also  ? "  asked  the  Lieu- 
tenant. 

"  Well,  no,"  said  Bell,  trying  to  remember  what  she  had 
been  told  ;  "  I  think  there  is  some  doubt  about  it.  King 
Alfred,  you  know,  fell  back  from  Reading,  when  he  was 
beaten,  but  he  stopped  somewhere  on  the  hills  near — 


OF  A  PHAETON.  71 

"  Why  not  the  hill  we  have  just  come  up  ?  "  said  the 
Lieutenant,  with  a  laugh.  "  It  is  near  Reading,  is  it  not  ? 
and  there  you  have  Assenton,  which  is  Ashenton,  which  is 
Ashendown,  which  is  Ashdown." 

"  Precisely,"  responded  Tita,  with  a  gracious  smile.  "  All 
you  have  to  do  is  to  change  John  into  Julius,  and  Smith 
into  Caesar,  and  there  you  are." 

"  But  that  is  not  fair,  Tita,"  said  Bell,  turning  round, 
and  pleading  quite  seriously.  "Assenton  is  the  same  as 
Ashendon  ;  and  that  is  the  name  of  the  place  where  the  battle 
was  fought.  I  think  Count  von  Rosen  is  quite  right." 

"  Well,  if  you  think  so,  Bell,  that  settles  it,"  said  my  Lady, 
looking  rather  pleased  than  otherwise. 

And  so  we  began  to  descend  into  this  plain  of  many 
memories  by  a  steep  road  that  is  appropriately  called 
Gangsdown  Hill.  From  thence  a  succession  of  undulations 
carried  us  into  the  green  breadths  of  Crowmarsh  Field  ; 
until,  finally,  we  drove  into  the  village  of  Bensington,  and 
pulled  up  at  the  "  Crown  "  there,  where  we  proposed  to  have 
some  luncheon. 

"  This  is  a  village  of  the  dead,"  said  Tita,  looking  down 
the  main  thoroughfare,  where  not  a  living  soul  was  to  be 
seen. 

But  at  all  events  a  human  being  appeared  in  the  yard — 
not  a  withered  and  silent  ostler,  but  a  stout,  hale,  cheerful 
person,  whose  white  shirt-sleeves  and  gold  chain  proclaimed 
him  landlord.  With  the  aid  of  a  small  boy,  he  undertook 
to  put  the  horses  up  for  an  hour  or  two  ;  and  then  we  went 
into  the  inn.  Here  we  found  that,  as  the  man  in  the  yard 
was  at  once  landlord  and  ostler,  his  wife  inside  was  landlady, 
cook,  and  waitress  ;  and  in  a  short  space  of  time  she  had 
brought  us  some  excellent  chops.  Not  much  time  was  spent 
over  the  meal ;  for  the  parlour  in  which  we  sat — albeit  it  was 
a  sort  of  museum  of  wonderful  curiosities,  and  was,  more- 
over, enlivened  by  the  presence  of  a  crack-voiced  cockatoo 
— was  rather  small  and  dark.  Accordingly,  while  the  horses 
were  having  their  rest,  we  sauntered  out  to  have  a  look  at 
Bensington. 

It  is  probably  not  the  dullest  little  village  in  England, 
but  it  would  be  hard  to  find  a  duller.  There  was  an  old 
shepherd  with  a  crook  in  his  hand  and  a  well-worn  smock 


72  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

frock  on  his  back,  who  was  leaning  over  the  wooden  palings 
in  front  of  a  house,  and  playfully  talking  to  a  small  boy  who 
stood  at  an  open  door.  With  many  old  country  people  it  is 
considered  the  height  of  raillery  to  alarm  a  boy  with  stories 
of  the  punishment  he  is  about  to  receive  for  something,  and 
to  visit  him  with  an  intimation  that  all  his  sins  have  been 
found  out.  This  old  shepherd,  with  his  withered  pippin  face, 
and  his  humorous  grin,  and  his  lazy  arms  folded  on  the  top 
of  the  palings,  was  evidently  enjoying  himself  vastly. 

"  A  wur  a-watchin'  o'  thee,  a  wur,  and  thy  vather,  he 
knaws,  too,  and  he'll  gie  thee  thy  vairin  wi'  a  good  tharn 
stick  when  he  comes  hwom.  A  zah  thee  this  marnin',  iny 
lad — thou'lt  think  nah  one  wur  thear,  eh  ?  " 

We  left  this  good-natured  old  gentleman  frightening  the 
boy,  and  went  round  to  the  outskirts  of  the  village.  Here, 
at  last,  we  found  one  explanation  of  the  inordinate  silence  of 
Bensington — the  children  were  all  at  their  lessons.  The 
door  of  the  plain  little  building,  which  had  BRITISH  SCHOOL 
inscribed  over  the  entrance,  was  open,  and  from  within  there 
issued  a  low,  confused  murmur.  The  Prussian,  anxious  to 
see  something  of  the  interior  of  an  English  school,  walked 
up  to  the  place  ;  but  he  had  just  managed  to  cast  a  glance 
round  on  the  rows  of  children  when  the  door  was  politely 
shut  in  his  face,  and  he  returned,  saying — 

"  I  am  not  an  inspector  ;  why  need  they  fear  ?  " 

But  when,  after  wandering  about  the  suburban  gardens 
and  by-ways  for  a  time,  we  returned  to  Bensington,  we 
found  that  important  village  in  a  state  of  profound  excite- 
ment. In  the  main  thoroughfare  a  concourse  of  five  people 
had  assembled — three  women  and  two  children ;  and  from 
the  doors  of  the  houses  on  both  sides  of  the  street  innumer- 
able faces,  certainly  not  less  than  a  dozen,  were  gazing 
forth.  It  is  true  that  the  people  did  not  themselves  come 
out — they  seemed  rather  to  shrink  from  courting  publicity  ; 
but  they  were  keenly  alive  to  what  was  going  on,  and 
Bensington  had  become  excited. 

For  there  had  appeared  in  the  main  street  a  little,  dry,  odd 
old  man,  who  was  leading  a  small  donkey-cart,  and  who  was 
evidently  rather  the  worse  for  liquor.  He  was  a  seller  of  peas. 
He  had  summoned  the  inhabitants  to  come  out  and  buy  the 
peas,  and  he  was  offering  them  on  what  we  were  told  were 


OF  A  PHAETON.  73 

very  reasonable  terms.  But  just  as  the  old  man  was 
beginning  to  enjoy  the  receipt  of  custom,  there  drove  into 
the  place  a  sharp,  brisk,  middle-aged  man,  with  a  shiny  face, 
a  fine  presence,  and  a  ringing  voice.  This  man  had  a  neat 
cart,  a  handsome  pony,  and  his  name  was  printed  in  large 
letters,  so  that  all  could  read.  He  was  also  a  seller  of  peas. 
Now,  although  this  rude  and  ostentatious  owner  of  the  pony 
was  selling  his  produce  at  fourpence,  while  the  humble 
proprietor  of  the  donkey  sold  his  at  threepence,  the  women 
recalled  their  children  and  bade  them  go  to  the  dearer 
market.  There  was  something  in  the  appearance  of  the 
man,  in  the  neatness  of  his  cart,  and  in  the  ringing 
cheerfulness  of  his  voice,  which  told  you  he  sold  good  peas. 
This  was  the  cause  of  the  great  perturbation  in  Bensington  ; 
for  no  sooner  did  the  half-tipsy  old  man  see  that  his  rival 
was  carrying  the  day  before  him  than  he  leaned  his  arms 
over  his  donkey's  head,  and  began  to  make  ironical  com- 
ments on  his  enemy  and  on  the  people  of  Bensington. 
He  was  apparently  in  the  best  of  spirits.  You  would  have 
thought  it  delighted  him  to  see  the  small  girls  come  timidly 
forward  to  him,  and  then  be  warned  away  by  a  cry  from 
their  mothers  that  they  were  to  go  to  the  other  cart.  Nay, 
he  went  the  length  of  advertising  his  neighbour's  wares.  He 
addressed  the  assembled  multitudes — by  this  time  there  were 
nearly  fifteen  people  visible  in  Bensington — and  told  them 
he  wouldn't  sell  his  peas  if  he  was  to  get  a  fortune  for  them. 

"  Pay  your  foppence,"  he  said  to  them,  in  accents  which 
showed  he  was  not  of  Bensington  born  ;  "  there  are  yer  right 
good  peas.  It's  all  along  o'  my  donkey  as  you'll  not  take 
mine,  though  they're  only  thrippence.  I  wouldn't  sell.  I 
won't  sell  this  day.  Take  back  yer  money.  I  won't  sell  my 
peas  at  a  crown  apiece — darned  if  I  do  I  " 

And  with  that  he  left  his  donkey  and  went  over  to  the 
proprietor  of  the  pony.  He  was  not  in  a  fighting  mood — 
not  he.  He  challenged  his  rival  to  run  the  pony  against 
the  donkey,  and  offered  to  bet  the  donkey  would  be  in 
London  a  week  before  the  other.  The  man  in  the  cart  took 
no  notice  of  these  sallies.  In  a  brisk,  practical,  methodical 
fashion,  he  was  measuring  out  his  peas,  and  handing  them 
down  to  the  uplifted  bowls  that  surrounded  him.  Sometimes 
he  grinned  in  a  good-natured  way  at  the  facetious  remarks 


74  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

of  his  unfortunate  antagonist ;  but  all  the  same  he  stuck  to 
his  business  and  drove  a  thriving  trade.  How  there  came 
to  be  on  that  afternoon  so  many  people  in  Bensington  who 
wished  to  buy  peas  must  remain  a  mystery. 

"  And  now,"  said  Bell,  as  we  once  more  got  into  the 
phaeton,  "  we  shall  be  in  Oxford  in  two  hours.  Bo  you  think 
the  post-office  will  be  open  ?  " 

"  Very  likely,"  said  Tita,  with  some  surprise  ;  "  but  do 
you  expect  letters  already,  Bell  ?  " 

"  You  cannot  tell,"  said  the  young  lady,  with  just  a  shade 
of  embarrassment,  "  how  soon  Kate  may  send  letters  after 
us.  And  she  knows  we  are  to  stop  a  day  at  Oxford.  It 
will  not  be  too  dark  to  go  hunting  for  the  post-office,  will 
it?" 

"  But  you  shall  not  go,"  said  the  Lieutenant,  giving  a 
shake  to  the  reins,  as  if  in  obedience  to  Bell's  wish.  "  When 
you  have  got  to  the  hotel,  I  will  go  and  get  your  letters  for 
you." 

"  Oh  no,  thank  you,"  said  Bell,  in  rather  a  hurried  and 
anxious  way.  "  I  should  prefer  much  to  go  for  them  myself, 
thank  you.*" 

That  was  all  that  was  said  on  the  subject ;  and  Bell,  we 
noticed,  was  rather  silent  for  the  first  few  miles  of  our  after- 
noon drive.  The  Lieutenant  did  his  best  to  amuse  her,  and 
carried  on  a  lively  conversation  chiefly  by  himself.  That 
mention  of  letters  seemed  to  have  left  Bell  rather  serious  ; 
and  she  was  obviously  not  over-delighted  at  the  prospect  of 
reaching  Oxford. 

The  road  from  Bensington  thither  is  pleasant  enough,  but 
not  particularly  interesting.  For  the  most  part  it  descends 
by  a  series  of  undulations  into  the  level  plain  watered  by  the 
Isis,  the  Cherwell,  and  the  Thames.  But  the  mere  notion  of 
approaching  that  famous  city,  which  is  consecrated  with 
memories  of  England's  greatest  men — statesmen  and  divines, 
melancholy  philosophers  and  ill-starred  poets — is  in  itself 
impressive,  and  lends  to  the  rather  common-place  landscape 
an  air  of  romance.  While  as  yet  the  old  town  lies  unseen 
amid  the  woods  that  crowd  up  to  the  very  edge  of  the  sky, 
one  fancies  the  bells  of  the  colleges  are  to  be  heard  as  Pope 
heard  them  when  he  rode,  a  solitary  horseman,  over  these 
very  hills,  and  down  into  the  plain,  and  up  to  Magdalen 


OF  A  PHAETON.  75 

Bridge.*  We  cared  little  to  look  at  the  villages,  strung  like 
beads  on  the  winding  thread  of  the  highway — Shelling! ord, 
Dorchester,  Nuneham  Courtenay,  and  Sandford  ;  nor  did  we 
even  turn  aside  to  go  down  to  Iffley  and  the  Thames. 
It  was  seven  when  we  drew  near  Oxford.  There  were  people 
sauntering  out  from  the  town  to  have  their  evening  walk. 
When,  at  last,  we  stopped  to  pay  toll  in  front  of  the  old 
lichen-covered  bridge  across  the  Cherwell,  the  tower  of 
Magdalen  College  and  the  magnificent  elms  on  the  other  side 
of  the  way,  had  caught  a  tinge  of  red  from  the  lurid  sunset, 
and  there  was  a  faint  reflection  of  crimson  down  on  the  still 
waters  that  lay  among  the  rank  green  meadows.  Then  we 
drove  on  into  the  High  Street,  and  here,  in  the  gathering 
dusk,  the  yellow  lamps  were  beginning  to  glimmer.  Should 
we  pull  up  at  the  Angel — that  famous  hostelry  of  ancient 
times,  whose  name  used  to  be  inscribed  on  so  many  notable 
coaches  ?  "  We  put  up  at  the  Angel  Inn,"  writes  Mr.  Boswell, 
"  and  passed  the  evening  by  ourselves  in  easy  and  familiar 
conversation."  Alas  !  the  Angel  is  now  no  more.  Or 
shall  we  follow  the  hero  of  the  Splendid  Shilling,  who, 

"  When  nightly  mists  arise, 
To  Juniper's  Magpie  or  Town  Hall  repairs  ?  " 

They,  too,  are  gone.  But  as  Castor  and  Pollux,  during  these 
moments  of  doubt  and  useless  reminiscence,  are  still  taking  us 
over  the  rough  stones  of  the  "  High,"  some  decision  must  be 
come  to  ;  and  so,  at  a  sudden  instigation,  Count  von  Rosen 

*  "  Nothing  could  have  more  of  that  melancholy  which  once  used 
to  please  me,  than  my  last  day's  journey ;  for  after  having  passed 
through  my  favourite  woods  in  the  forest,  with  a  thousand  reveries  of 
past  pleasures,  I  rid  over  hanging  hills,  whose  tops  were  edged  with 
groves,  and  whose  feet  watered  with  winding  rivers,  listening  to  the 
falls  of  cataracts  below,  and  the  murmuring  of  the  winds  above  ;  the 
gloomy  verdure  of  Stonor  succeeded  to  these,  and  then  the  shades  of 
evening  overtook  me.  The  moon  rose  in  the  clearest  sky  I  ever  saw, 
by  whose  solemn  light  I  paced  on  slowly,  without  company,  or  any 
interruption  to  the  range  of  my  thoughts.  About  a  mile  before  I 
reached  Oxford,  all  the  bells  tolled  in  different  notes ;  the  clocks  of 
every  college  answered  one  another  and  sounded  forth  (some  in 
deeper,  some  in  a  softer  tone)  that  it  was  eleven  at  night.  All  this 
was  no  ill  preparation  to  the  life  I  have  led  since  among  those  old 
walls,  venerable  galleries,  stone  porticoes,  studious  walks,  and  solitary 
scenes  of  the  University." — Pope  to  Mrs.  Martha  Blount.  [Stonor 
Park  lies  about  two  miles  to  the  right  of  Bix  turnpike.] 


76  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

pulls  up  in  front  of  the  Mitre,  which  is  an  appropriate  sign 
for  the  High  Street  of  Oxford,  and  betokens  age  and 
respectability. 

The  stables  of  the  Mitre  are  clean,  well-ventilated,  and 
well-managed — indeed,  no  better  stables  could  have  been 
found  for  putting  up  the  horses  for  their  next  day's  rest. 
"When  we  had  seen  to  their  comfort,  we  returned  to  the  inn, 
and  found  that  my  Lady  and  Bell  had  not  only  had  all  the 
luggage  conveyed  to  our  respective  rooms,  but  had  ordered 
dinner,  changed  their  attire,  and  were  waiting  for  us  in  the 
square,  old-fashioned,  low-roof ed  coffee-room  which  looks  out 
into  the  High  Street.  A  tall  waiter  was  laying  the  cloth 
for  us  ;  the  lights  were  lit  around  the  wall ;  our  only 
companions  were  two  elderly  gentlemen  who  sat  in  a  remote 
corner,  and  gave  themselves  up  to  politics  ;  and  Bell,  having 
resolved  to  postpone  her  inquiry  about  letters  until  next 
morning — in  obedience  to  the  very  urgent  entreaties  of 
the  Lieutenant — seemed  all  the  more  cheerful  for  that 
resolution. 

But  if  our  two  friends  by  the  fire-place  could  not  over- 
hear our  talk,  we  could  overhear  theirs  ;  and  all  the  time  we 
sat  at  dinner,  we  were  receiving  a  vast  amount  of  enlighten- 
ment about  the  condition  of  the  country.  The  chief 
spokesman  was  a  short,  stout  person,  with  a  fresh,  healthy, 
energetic  face,  keen  grey  eyes,  bushy  grey  whiskers,  a  bald 
head,  and  a  black  satin  waistcoat ;  his  companion  a  taller 
and  thinner  man,  with  straight  black  hair,  sallow  cheeks, 
and  melancholy  dark  eyes  ;  and  the  former,  in  a  somewhat 
pompous  manner,  was  demonstrating  the  blindness  of 
ordinary  politicians  to  the  wrath  that  was  to  come.  Lord 
Palmerston  saw  it,  he  said.  There  was  no  statesman  ever 
like  Lord  Palmerston — there  would  never  be  his  like  again. 
For  was  not  the  North  bound  to  fight  the  South  in  every 
country  ?  And  what  should  we  do  if  the  men  of  the  great 
manufacturing  towns  were  to  come  down  on  us  ?  There 
were  two  Englands  in  this  island — and  the  Westminster 
Houses  knew  nothing  of  the  rival  camps  that  were  being 
formed.  And  did  not  the  North  always  beat  the  South  ? 
Did  not  Koine  beat  Carthage  ?  and  the  Huns  the  Romans  ? 
and  the  Northern  States  the  Southern  States  ?  and  Prussia 
Austria  ?  and  Germany  France  ?  And  when  the  big-limbed 


OF  A  PHAETON.  77 

and  determined  men  of  Birmingham,  Leeds,  Manchester, 
Preston,  Newcastle,  and  such  towns,  rose  to  sweep  aside  the 
last  feudal  institutions  of  this  country,  of  what  avail  would 
he  a  protest  on  the  part  of  the  feeble  and  self-indulgent 
South  ? 

"  This  kingdom,  Sir,"  said  the  gentleman  with  the  satin 
waistcoat  and  gold  seals,  in  such  lofty  tones  that  Count  von 
Eosen  scarcely  minded  his  dinner — <k  this  kingdom,  Sir,  is 
more  divided  at  this  moment  than  it  was  during  the  Wars 
of  the  Roses.  It  is  split  into  hostile  factions  ;  and  which 
is  the  more  patriotic  ?  Neither.  There  is  no  patriotism 
left — only  the  selfishness  of  class.  We  care  no  more  for  the 
country  as  a  country.  We  are  cosmopolitan.  The  scepticism 
of  the  first  French  Revolution  has  poisoned  our  big  towns. 
We  tolerate  a  monarchy  as  a  harmless  toy.  We  tolerate  an 
endowed  priesthood,  because  we  think  they  cannot  make 
our  peasantry  more  ignorant  than  they  are.  We  allow 
pauperism  to  increase  and  eat  into  the  heart  of  the  State, 
because  we  think  it  no  business  of  ours  to  interfere.  We 
see  our  lowest  classes  growing  up  to  starve  or  steal,  in 
ignorance  and  dirt ;  our  middle  classes  scrambling  for 
wealth  to  get  out  of  the  state  they  were  born  in  ;  our  upper 
classes  given  over  to  luxury  and  debauchery — patriotism 
gone — continental  nations  laughing  at  us — our  army  a  mere 
handful  of  men  with  incompetent  officers — our  navy  made 
the  subject  of  destructive  experiments  by  interested  cliques 
• — our  Government  ready  to  seize  on  the  most  revolutionary 
schemes  to  get  together  a  majority  and  remain  in  power — 
selfishness,  incompetence,  indifference  become  paramount — 
it  is  horrible,  Sir,  it  is  Orrible." 

In  his  anxiety  to  be  emphatic,  he  left  out  that  one  "  h  "  ; 
it  was  his  only  slip.  Our  Lieutenant  turned  to  Tita,  and 
said  : 

"  I  have  met  many  English  people  in  Germany  who  have 
spoken  to  me  like  that.  They  do  seem  to  have  a  pride  in 
criticising  themselves  and  their  country.  Is  it  because  they 
feel  they  are  so  strong,  and  so  rich,  and  so  good,  that  they 
can  afford  to  dispraise  themselves  ?  Is  it  because  they  feel 
themselves  so  very  safe  in  this  island  that  they  think  little 
of  patriotism,  yes  ?  But  I  have  observed  this  thing — that 
when  it  is  a  foreigner  who  begins  to  say  such  things  of 


78  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

England,  your  countryman  he  instantly  changes  his  tone. 
He  may  say  himself  bad  things  of  his  country  ;  but  he  will 
not  allow  anyone  else.  That  is  very  good — very  right.  But 
I  would  rather  have  a  Frenchman  who  is  very  vain  of  his 
country,  and  says  so  at  every  moment,  than  an  Englishman 
who  is  very  vain  and  pretends  to  disparage  it.  The  French- 
man is  more  honest." 

"But  there  are  many  Englishmen  who  think  England 
wants  great  improvements,"  said  Tita. 

"  Improvements  !  Yes.  But  it  is  another  thing  you 
hear  so  many  Englishmen  say,  that  their  country  is  all 
wrong — '  going  to  the  dogs'  is  what  you  say  for  that.  Well, 
they  do  not  believe  it  true — it  is  impossible  to  be  true  ;  and 
they  do  not  look  well  with  us  foreigners  when  they  say  so. 
For  myself,  I  like  to  see  a  man  proud  of  his  country, 
whatever  country  it  is  ;  and  if  my  country  were  England, 
do  not  you  think  I  should  be  proud  of  her  great  history, 
and  her  great  men,  and  her  powers  of  filling  the  world  with 
colonies,  and — what  I  think  most  of  all — her  courage  in 
making  the  country  free  to  every  man,  and  protecting 
opinions  that  she  herself  does  not  believe,  because  it  is  right  ? 
When  my  countrymen  hear  Englishmen  talk  like  that,  they 
cannot  understand." 

You  should  have  seen  our  Bell's  face — the  pride  and  the 
gratitude  that  were  in  her  eyes,  while  she  did  not  speak. 

"  You  would  not  have  us  go  about  praising  ourselves  for 
doing  right  ?  "  said  Tita. 

"  No,  he  said,  "  but  you  ought  not  to  go  about  profess- 
ing yourselves  to  be  less  satisfied  with  your  country  than 
you  are." 

Before  breaking  up  for  the  night,  we  came  to  a  reckoning 
about  our  progress,  and  probable  line  of  route.  Fifty-eight 
miles — that  was  the  exact  distance,  by  straight  road,  we  had 
got  on  our  way  to  Scotland  at  the  end  of  the  third  day. 

"  And  to-morrow,"  said  Tita,  as  she  finished  giving  the 
Lieutenant  his  first  lesson  in  bezique,  "  counts  for  nothing, 
as  we  remain  here.  Fifty-eight  miles  in  three  days  looks 
rather  small,  does  it  not  ?  But  I  suppose  we  shall  get  there 
in  course  of  time." 

"  Yes,"  said  Bell,  gently,  as  she  put  the  markers  straight, 
"  in  Pollux'  course  of  time." 


OF  A  PHAETON.  79 

My  Lady  rose,  and  in  her  severest  tones  ordered  the  girl 
to  bed. 

[Note  by  Queen  Titania. — "  If  these  jottings  of  our  journey  come  to 
be  published,  I  beg  to  say  that,  so  far  as  I  appear  in  them,  they  are  a 
little  unfair.  I  hope  I  am  not  so  very  terrible  a  person  as  ail  that 
comes  to.  I  have  noticed  in  some  other  families  that  a  man  of 
obstinate  will  and  of  uncertain  temper  likes  nothing  so  much  as  to 
pretend  to  his  friends  that  he  suffers  dreadfully  from  the  tyranny  of 
his  wife.  It  is  merely  self-complacency.  He  knows  no  one  dares  to 
thwart  him  ;  and  so  he  thinks  it  rather  humorous  to  give  himself  the 
air  of  being  much  injured,  and  of  being  very  good-natured.  I  dare 
say,  however,  most  people  who  look  at  these  memoranda  will  be  able 
to  decide  whether  the  trifling  misunderstandings — which  have  been 
much  exaggerated  and  made  to  look  serious — were  owing  to  me.  But 
as  for  Bell,  I  do  not  think  it  right  to  joke  about  her  position  at  all. 
She  does  her  best  to  keep  up  her  spirits — and  she  is  a  brave,  good 
girl,  who  likes  to  be  cheerful  if  only  for  the  sake  of  those  around  her  ; 
but  this  affair  of  Arthur  Ashburton  is  causing  her  deep  anxiety  and  a 
good  deal  of  vexation.  Why  she  should  have  some  vague  impression 
that  she  has  treated  him  badly,  I  cannot  see ;  for  the  very  reverse  is 
the  case.  But  .surely  it  is  unfair  to  make  this  lovers'  quarrel  the 
pretext  for  dragging  Bell  into  a  wild  romance,  which  the  writer  of 
the  foregoing  pages  seems  bent  on  doing.  Indeed,  with  regard  to  this 
subject,  I  cannot  do  better  than  repeat  a  conversation  which,  with 
characteristic  ingenuity,  he  has  entirely  omitted.  He  said  to  me,  while 
we  were  wandering  about  Bensington — and  Bell  had  strolled  on  with 
Count  von  Rosen — 

" '  After  all,  our  phaeton  is  not  a  microcosm.  We  have  not  the 
complete  elements  for  a  romance.  We  have  no  villain  with  us.' 

"  '  You  flatter  yourself,'  I  remarked ;  which  did  not  seem  to  please 
him,  but  he  pretended  not  to  hear. 

"  '  There  will  be  no  dark  background  to  our  adventures — no  crime, 
secrecy,  plotting,  or  malicious  thwarting  of  Bell's  happiness.  It  will 
be  like  a  magic-lantern  slide  with  all  the  figures  painted  in  rose- 
colour.' 

** '  What  do  you  mean  by  Bell's  happiness  ?  '  I  asked. 

" '  Her  marriage  with  the  Lieutenant ;  and  there  is  no  villain  to 
oppose  it.  Even  if  we  had  a  villain,  there  is  no  room  for  him :  the 
phaeton  only  holds  four  comfortably.' 

"Really  this  was  too  much.  I  could  scarcely  control  my  im- 
patience with  such  folly.  I  have  said  before  that  the  girl  does  not 
wish  to  marry  anyone  ;  but  if  there  were  any  thought  of  marriage  in 
her  mind,  surely  her  anxiety  about  that  letter  points  in  a  very  different 
^l•ay.  Of  course  I  was  immediately  taunted  with  scheming  to  throw 
Bell  and  Count  von  Rosen  together  during  our  drive.  I  admit  that  I 
did  so,  and  mean  to  do  so.  We  ought  not  to  expect  young  folks  to 
be  always  delighted  with  the  society  of  their  elders.  It  is  only 
natural  that  these  two  young  people  should  become  companions ;  but 
what  of  that  ?  And  as  to  the  speech  about  a  villain,  who  ever  saw 
one  ?  Out  of  a  novel  or  a  play,  I  never  saw  a  villain  ;  and  I  don't 


8o  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

know  anybody  who  ever  did.  It  seems  to  me  there  is  a  good  deal  of 
self-satisfaction  in  the  notion  that  we  four  are  all  so  angelic  that  it 
wants  some  disagreeable  person  to  throw  us  into  relief.  Are  we  all 
painted  in  rose-colour?  Looking  back  over  these  pages,  I  do  not 
think  so  ;  but  I  am  not  surprised — considering  who  had  the  wielding 
of  the  brush.  And  yet  I  think  we  have  so  far  enjoyed  ourselves  very 
well,  considering  that  I  am  supposed  to  be  very  hard  to  please,  and 
very  quarrelsome.  Perhaps  none  of  us  are  so  amiable  as  we  ought 
to  be  ;  and  yet  we  manage  to  put  up  with  one  another  somehow.  In 
the  meantime,  I  am  grieved  to  see  Bell,  without  the  intervention  of 
any  villain  whatever,  undergoing  great  anxiety;  and  I  wish  the 
girl  had  sufficient  courage  to  sit  down  at  once  and  write  to  Arthur 
Ashburton  and  absolutely  forbid  him  to  do  anything  so  foolish  as 
seek  an  interview  with  her.  If  he  should  do  so,  it  is  impossible  to 
say  what  may  come  of  it ;  for  our  Bell  has  a  good  deal  of  pride  with 
all  her  gentleness. — T."] 


CHAPTER  VII. 

ATRA  CURA. 

"  O  gentle  wind  that  bloweth  south, 

To  where  my  love  repaireth, 

Convey  a  kiss  to  his  dear  mouth, 

And  tell  me  how  he  fareth  !  " 

"MY  dear,  you  are  unphilosophical.  Why  should  you 
rebuke  Bell  for  occasionally  using  one  of  those  quaint 
American  phrases  which  have  wandered  into  this  country  ? 
I  can  remember  a  young  person  who  had  a  great  trick  of 
quoting  Italian — especially  in  moments  of  tenderness — but 

that  was  a  long  time  ago — and  perhaps  she  has  forgotten 
)? 

"  It  is  shameful  of  you,"  says  Queen  Titania,  hastily,  "  to 
encourage  Bell  in  that  way.  She  would  never  do  anything 
of  the  kind  but  for  you.  And  you  know  very  well  that 
quoting  a  foreign  language  is  quite  a  different  thing  from 
using  those  stupid  Americanisms  which  are  only  fit  for 
negro-concerts." 

"  My  dear,  you  are  unphilosophical.  When  America 
started  in  business  on  her  own  account,  she  forgot  to  furnish 
herself  with  an  independent  language  ;  but  ever  since  she 
has  been  working  hard  to  supply  the  want.  By  and  by  you 
will  find  an  American  language — sharp,  concise,  expressive — 
built  on  the  diffuse  and  heavy  foundations  of  our  own  English. 


OF  A  PHAETON.  81 

Why  should  not  Bell  use  those  tentative  phrases  which 
convey  so  much  in  so  few  syllables  ?  Why  call  it  slang  ? 
What  is  slang  but  an  effort  at  conciseness  ?  " 

Tita  looked  puzzled,  vexed,  and  desperate  ;  and  inadver- 
tently turned  to  Count  von  Rosen,  who  was  handing  the 
sugar-basin  to  Bell.  He  seemed  to  understand  the  appeal, 
for  he  immediately  said — 

"  Oh,  but  you  do  know,  that  is  not  the  objection.  I  do 
not  think  Mademoiselle  talks  in  that  way,  or  should  be 
criticised  about  it  by  anyone  ;  but  the  wrong  that  is  done 
by  introducing  the  slang  words  is,  that  it  destroys  the  his- 
tory of  a  language.  It  perverts  the  true  meaning  of  roots 
— it  takes  away  the  poetry  of  ^derivations — it  confuses  the 
student." 

"  And  who  thought  of  students  when  the  various  objects 
in  life  were  named  ?  And  whence  came  the  roots  ?  And 
is  not  language  always  an  experiment,  producing  fresh 
results  as  people  find  it  convenient,  and  leaving  students  to 
frame  laws  as  they  like  ?  And  why  are  we  to  give  up  suc- 
cinct words  or  phrases  because  the  dictionaries  of  the  last 
generation  consecrated  them  to  a  particular  use  ?  My  dear 
children,  the  process  of  inventing  language  goes  on  from 
year  to  year,  changing,  modifying,  supplying,  and  building 
up  new  islands  out  of  the  common  sand  and  the  sea.  What 
to-day  is  slang,  to-morrow  is  language,  if  one  may  be  per- 
mitted to  parody  Feuerbach.  And  I  say  that  Bell,  having 
an  accurate  ear  for  fit  sounds,  shall  use  such  words  as  she 
likes  ;  and  if  she  can  invent  epithets  of  her  own — 

"  But,  please,  I  don't  wish  to  do  anything  of  the  kind," 
said  Bell,  looking  quite  shamefaced. 

That  is  just  the  way  of  those  women  :  interfere  to  help 
them  in  a  difficulty,  and  they  straightway  fly  over  to  the 
common  enemy,  especially  if  he  happens  to  represent  a  social 
majority. 

I  began  to  perceive  about  this  stage  of  our  journey  that 
a  large  number  of  small  articles  over  which  Bell  had  charge 
were  now  never  missing.  Whenever  she  wanted  a  map,  or 
a  guide-book,  or  any  one  of  the  things  which  had  been 
specially  entrusted  to  her,  it  was  forthcoming  directly.  Nay, 
she  never  had,  like  Tita,  to  look  for  a  hat,  or  a  shawl,  or  a 
scarf,  or  a  packet  of  bezique-cards.  I  also  began  to  notice 

G 


$2  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

that  when  she  missed  one  of  those  things,  she  quite  naturally 
turned  to  our  Lieutenant,  who  was  sure  to  know  where  it 
was,  and  to  hand  it  to  her  on  the  instant.  The  con- 
sequence on  this  morning  was,  that  when  we  all  came  down 
prepared  to  go  out  for  an  exploration  of  Oxford,  we  found 
Bell  at  the  window  of  the  coffee-room,  looking  placidly 
into  the  High  Street,  where  the  sunlight  was  shining  down 
on  the  top  of  the  old-fashioned  houses  opposite,  and  on 
the  brand-new  bank,  which,  as  a  compliment  to  the  pre- 
vailing style  of  the  city,  has  been  built  in  very  distinguished 
Gothic. 

It  was  proposed  that  we  should  first  go  along  and  have  a 
look  at  Christ  Church. 

"  And  that  will  just  take  us  past  the  post-office,"  said  Bell. 

"  Why,  how  do  you  know  that  ?  Have  you  been  out  ?  " 
asked  Titania. 

"  No,"  replied  Bell,  simply.  "  But  Count  von  Rosen  told 
me  where  it  was." 

"  Oh,  I  have  been  all  over  the  town  this  morning,"  said 
the  Lieutenant,  carelessly.  "It  is  the  finest  town  that  I 
have  yet  seen — a  sort  of  Gothic  Munich,  but  old,  very  old — 
not  new  and  white  like  Munich,  where  the  streets  are  asking 
you  to  look  at  their  fine  buildings.  And  I  have  been  down 
to  the  river—  that  is  very  fine,  too  ;  even  the  appearance  of 
the  old  colleges  and  buildings  from  the  meadows — that  is 
wonderful." 

"  Have  you  made  any  other  discoveries  this  morning  ?  " 
said  Queen  Tita,  with  a  gracious  smile. 

"  Yes,"  said  the  young  man,  lightly.  "  I  have  discovered 
that  the  handsome  young  waiter  who  gave  us  our  breakfast 
— that  he  has  been  a  rider  in  a  circus,  which  I  did  suspect 
myself,  from  his  manner  and  attitudes — and  also  an  actor, 
He  is  a  very  fine  man,  but  not  much  spirit.  I  was  asking 
him  this  morning  why  he  is  not  a  soldier.  He  despises 
that,  because  you  pay  a  shilling  a  day.  That  is  a  pity  your 
soldiers  are  not — what  shall  I  say  ? — respectable  ;  that 
your  best  young  men  do  not  like  to  go  with  them,  and 
become  under-officers.  But  I  do  not  know  he  is  very 
good  stuff  for  a  soldier — he  smiles  too  much,  and  makes 
himself  pleasant.  Perhaps  that  is  only  because  he  is  a 
waiter." 


OF  A  PHAETON.  83 

"  Have  you  made  any  other  acquaintances  this  morning  ?  " 
said  Tita,  with  a  friendly  amusement  in  her  eyes. 

"  No,  no  one — except  the  old  gentleman  who  did  talk 
politics  last  night.  He  is  gone  away  by  the  train  to 
Birmingham." 

"  Pray  when  do  you  get  up  in  the  morning  ?  " 

"  I  did  not  look  that ;  but  there  was  no  one  in  the  streets 
when  I  went  out,  as  there  would  be  in  a  German  town  ;  and 
even  now  there  is  a  great  dulness.  I  have  inquired  about 
the  students — they  are  all  gone  home — it  is  a  vacation. 
And  a  young  lady  in  a  bookshop  told  me  that  there  is  no 
life  in  the  town  when  the  students  are  gone — that  all  places 
close  early — that  even  the  milliners'  shops  are  closed  just 
now  at  half -past  seven,  wThile  they  are  open  till  nine  when 
the  students  are  here." 

"  And  what,"  demanded  my  Lady,  with  a  look  of  innocent 
wonder, "  what  have  the  students  to  do  with  milliners'  shops 
that  such  places  should  be  kept  open  on  their  account  ?  " 

No  one  could  offer  a  sufficient  solution  of  this  problem  ; 
and  so  we  left  the  coffee-room  and  plunged  into  the  glare  of 
the  High  Street. 

It  would  be  useless  to  attempt  here  any  detailed  account 
of  that  day's  long  and  pleasant  rambling  through  Oxford. 
To  anyone  who  knows  the  appearance  and  the  associations  of 
the  grand  old  city — who  is  familiar  with  the  various  mass 
of  crumbling  colleges,  and  quiet  cloisters,  and  grassy 
quadrangles — who  has  wandered  along  the  quaint  clean 
streets  that  look  strangely  staid  and  orthodox,  and  are  as 
old  as  the  splendid  elms  that  break  in  continually  on  the 
lines  and  curves  of  the  prevailing  architecture — to  one  who 
has  even  seen  the  city  at  a  distance,  with  its  many  spires 
and  turrets  set  amid  fair  green  meadows,  and  girt  about  with 
the  silver  windings  of  streams- — any  such  brief  recapitulation 
would  be  wholly  bald  and  useless  ;  while  he  to  whom  Oxford 
is  unknown  can  learn  nothing  of  its  beauties  and  impressions 
without  going  there.  Our  party  absolutely  refused  to  go 
sight-seeing,  and  were  quite  content  to  accept  the  antiqua- 
rian researches  of  the  guide-books  on  credit.  It  was  enough 
for  us  to  ramble  leisurely  through  the  old  courts  and  squares 
and  alleys,  where  the  shadows  lay  cool  under  the  gloomy 
walls,  or  under  avenues  of  magnificent  elms. 

G  2 


84  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

But  first  of  all  we  paid  a  more  formal  visit  to  Christ 
Church,  and  on  our  way  thither  the  Lieutenant  stopped 
Bell  at  the  post-office.  She  begged  leave  to  ask  for  letters 
herself  ;  and  presently  reappeared  with  two  in  her  hand. 

"  These  are  from  the  boys,"  she  said  to  my  Lady  :  "  there 
is  one  for  you,  and  one  for  Papa." 

"  You  have  had  no  letter  ?  "  said  Tita. 

"  Xo,"  answered  Bell,  somewhat  gravely  as  I  fancied  ; 
and  for  some  time  after  she  seemed  rather  thoughtful  and 
anxious. 

As  we  paused  underneath  the  archway  in  front  of  the 
sunlit  quadrangle  of  Christ  Church,  the  letters  from  the 
boys  were  read  aloud.  This  is  the  first  one,  which  shows 
the  pains  a  boy  will  take  to  write  properly  to  his  mother, 
especially  when  he  can  lay  his  hands  on  some  convenient 
guide-book  to  correspondence  : — 

"  COWLEY  HOUSE,  TWICKENHAM. 

"  MY  DEAR  MAMMA, — I  take  up  my  pen  to  let  you  know 
that  I  am  quite  well,  and  hope  that  this  will  find  you  in 
the  engoyment  of  good  health.  My  studdies  are  advancing 
favably,  and  I  hope  I  shall  continue  to  please  my  teacher 
and  my  dear  parents,  who  have  been  so  kind  to  me,  and  are 
anxious  for  my  wellfare.  I  look  foward  with  much  delight 
to  the  aproarching  hollidays,  and  I  am,  my  dear  Mamma, 

"  Your  affectionate  Son, 

"  JACK. 
"  P.S. — He  does  gallop  so  ;  and  he  eats  beans." 

Master  Tom,  on  the  other  hand,  showed  that  the  fear 
of  his  mother  was  not  on  him  when  he  sat  down  to  write. 
Both  of  them  had  evidently  just  been  impressed  with  the 
pony's  gallopping  ;  for  the  second  letter  was  as  follows  : — 

"  COWLEY  HOUSE,  TWICKENHAM. 

"MY  DEAR  PAPA, — He  does  gallop  so,  you  can't  think 
[this  phrase,  as  improper,  was  hastily  scored  through]  and  I 
took  him  down  to  the  river  and  the  boys  were  very  Imperti- 
nent and  I  rode  him  down  to  the  river  and  they  had  to  run 
away  from  their  clothes  and  he  went  into  the  river  a  good 
bit  and  was  not  afraid  but  you  know  he  cannot  swim  yet  at 


OF  A  PHAETON.  85 

he  is  very  young  Harry  French  says  and  Doctor  Ashburton 
went  with  us  yesterday  my  dear  papa  to  the  ferry  and  Dick 
was  taken  over  in  the  ferry  and  we  all  went  threw  the  trees 
by  Ham  House  and  up  to  Ham  Common  and  back  by 
Richmond  Bridge  and  Dick  was  not  a  bit  Tired.  But 
what  do  you  think  my  dear  papa  Doctor  Ashburton  says  all 
our  own  money  won't  pay  for  his  hay  and  corn  and  he  will 
starve  if  you  do  not  send  some  please  my  dear  papa  to  send 
some  at  once  because  if  he  starvves  once  he  will  not  get  right 
again  and  the  Ostler  says  he  is  very  greedy  but  he  his  a  very 
good  pony  and  very  intelgent  dear  papa  Doctor  Ashburton 
has  bawt  us  each  a  riding-whip  but  I  never  hit  him  over 
the  ears  which  the  Ostler  says  is  dangerus  and  you  must 
tell  the  German  gentleman  that  Jack  and  I  are  very 
much  obled  [scored  out]  obledg  [also  scored  out]  obbliged 
to  him,  and  send  our  love  to  him  and  to  dear  Auntie 
Bell  and  to  dear  Mamma  and  I  am  my  dear  papa  your 
affexnate  son.  "  TOM." 

"  It  is  really  disgraceful,"  said  the  mother  of  the  scamps, 
"the  shocking  way  those  boys  spell.  Really  Doctor  Ash- 
burton must  be  written  to.  At  their  age,  and  with  such 
letters  as  these — it  is  shameful." 

"  I  think  they  are  very  clever  boys,"  said  Bell,  "  and  I 
hope  you  won't  impose  extra  lessons  on  them  just  as  they 
have  got  a  pony." 

"  They  ought  not  to  have  had  the  pony  until  they  had 
given  a  better  account  of  themselves  at  school,"  said  my 
Lady,  severely ;  to  which  Bell  only  replied  by  saying,  in  a 
pensive  manner,  that  she  wished  she  was  a  boy  of  nine  years 
of  age,  just  become  possessed  of  a  pony,  and  living  in  the 
country. 

We  spent  a  long  time  in  Christ  Church,  more  especially 
in  the  magnificent  Hall,  where  the  historical  portraits  greatly 
interested  Bell.  She  entered  into  surmises  as  to  the 
sensations  which  must  have  been  felt  by  the  poets  and 
courtiers  of  Queen  Elizabeth's  time  when  they  had  to  pay 
compliments  to  the  thin-faced,  red-haired  woman  who  is 
here  represented  in  her  royal  satins  and  pearls  ;  and  won- 
dered whether,  when  they  had  celebrated  her  as  the  Queen 
of  Beauty,  they  afterwards  reconciled  these  flatteries  to 


86  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

their  conscience  by  looking  on  them  as  sarcasm.  But 
whereas  Bell's  criticism  of  the  picture  was  quite  gentle  and 
unprejudiced,  there  was  a  good  deal  more  of  acerbity  in  the 
tone  in  which  Queen  Tita  drew  near  to  speak  of  Holbein's 
Henry  VIII.  My  firm  belief  is,  that  the  mother  of  those 
'two  boys  at  Twickenham,  if  she  only  had  the  courage  of  her 
opinions — and  dared  to  reveal  those  secret  sentiments  which 
now  find  expression  in  decorating  our  bedrooms  with  missal- 
like  texts,  and  in  the  use  of  Ritualistic  phrases  to  describe 
ordinary  portions  of  the  service  and  ordinary  days  of  the 

year — would  really  be  discovered  to  be but  let  that  pass. 

What  harm  Henry  VIII.  had  done  her,  I  could  not  make 
out.  Anyone  may  perceive  that  that  monarch  has  not  the 
look  of  an  ascetic  ;  that  the  contour  of  his  face  and  the 
setting  of  his  eyes  are  not  particularly  pleasing  ;  that  he 
could  not  easily  be  mistaken  for  Ignatius  Loyola.  But  why 
any  woman  of  this  present  day,  who  subscribes  to  Mudie's, 
watches  the  costumes  of  the  Princess  of  Wales,  and  thinks 
that  Dr.  Pusey  has  been  ungenerously  treated,  should  regard 
a  portrait  of  Henry  VIII.  as  though  he  had  done  her  an 
injury  only  the  week  before  last,  it  is  not  easy  to  discover. 
Bell,  on  the  other  hand,  was  discoursing  to  the  Lieutenant 
about  the  various  workmanship  of  the  pictures,  and  giving 
him  a  vast  amount  of  information  about  technical  matters, 
in  which  he  appeared  to  take  a  deep  interest. 

"But  did  you  ever  paint  upon  panel  yourself,  Made- 
moiselle ?  "  he  asked. 

"  Oh  yes,"  said  Bell,  "  I  was  at  one  time  very  fond  of  it. 
But  I  never  made  it  so  useful  as  a  countryman  of  mine  once 
suggested  it  might  be.  He  was  a  Cumberland 'farmer  who 
had  come  down  to  our  house  at  Ambleside  ;  and  when  he 
saw  me  painting  on  a  piece  of  wood,  he  looked  at  it  with 
great  curiosity. 

"  '  Heh,  lass,'  he  said,  i  thou's  pent  in  a  fine  pictur  there, 
and  on  wood,  too.  Is't  for  the  yell-house  ?  ' 

"  '  No,'  I  said,  explaining  that  I  was  painting  for  my  own 
pleasure,  and  that  it  was  not  a  public-house  sign. 

"  '  To  please  thysel,  heh  ?  And  when  thou's  dune  wi'  the 
pictur,  thou  canst  plane  it  off  the  wood,  and  begin  another 
— that's  thy  meanin',  is't  ?  ' 

"  I  was  very  angry  with  him,  for  I  was  only  about  fifteen 


OF  A  PHAETON.  87 

then,  and  I  wanted  to  send  my  picture  to  a  London  ex- 
hibition." 

"  Why,  I  did  see  it  down  at  Leatherhead !  "  said  von 
Eosen.  "Was  not  that  the  picture,  on  panel,  near  the 
window  of  the  dining-room  ?  " 

"  Come,  come  ! "  said  Titania  to  the  girl,  who  could  not 
quite  conceal  the  pleasure  she  felt  on  hearing  that  the  Count 
had  noticed  this  juvenile  effort  of  hers  ;  "  come  along,  and 
let  us  see  the  library  before  we  go  into  the  open  air  again." 

In  the  library,  too,  were  more  portraits  and  pictures,  in 
which  these  young  people  were  much  interested.  We  found 
it  impossible  to  drag  them  along.  They  would  loiter  in 
some  corner  or  other,  and  then,  when  we  forsook  our  civil 
attendant  and  went  back  for  them,  we  found  them  deeply 
engrossed  in  some  obscure  portrait  or  buried  in  a  huge 
parchment-bound  folio  which  the  Lieutenant  had  taken  out 
and  opened.  Bell  was  a  fairly  well-informed  young  woman, 
as  times  go,  and  knew  quite  as  much  of  French  literature  as 
was  good  for  her  ;  but  it  certainly  puzzled  Tita  and  myself 
to  discover  what  possible  interest  she  could  have  in  gazing 
upon  the  large  pages  of  the  Encyclopedia,  while  the  Lieu- 
tenant talked  to  her  about  D'Alembert.  Nor  could  it  be 
possible  that  a  young  lady  of  her  years  and  pursuits  had 
imbibed  so  much  reverence  for  original  editions  as  to  stand 
entranced  before  this  or  that  well-known  author  whose 
earliest  offspring  had  been  laid  hold  of  by  her  companion. 
They  both  seemed  unwilling  to  leave  this  library  ;  but  von 
Rosen  explained  the  matter  when  he  came  out — saying  that 
he  had  never  felt  so  keenly  the  proverbial  impulses  of  an 
Uhlan  as  when  he  found  himself  with  these  valuable  old 
books  in  his  hand,  and  only  one  attendant  near.  I  con- 
gratulated the  authorities  of  Christ  Church  on  what  they 
had  escaped. 

Of  course  we  went  down  to  the  river  some  little  time  after 
lunch ;  and  had  a  look  from  Folly  Bridge  on  the  various 
oddjv-assorted  crews  that  had  invaded  the  sacred  waters  of 
the  jfeis  in  the  absence  of  the  University  men.  When  the 
Lieutenant  proposed  that  we,  too,  should  get  a  boat  and 
make^,  voyage  down  between  the  green  meadows,  it  almost 
seemed  as  if  we  were  venturing  into  a  man's  house  in  the 
absence  of  the  owner  ;  but  then  Bell  very  prettily  and 


88  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

urgently  added  her  supplications  ;  and  Tita  professed  herself 
not  unwilling  to  give  the  young  folks  an  airing  on  the 
stream.  There  were  plenty  of  signs  that  it  was  vacation- 
time  besides  the  appearance  of  the  nondescript  oarsmen. 
A  great  show  of  painting  and  scraping  and  gilding  was 
visible  among  that  long  line  of  mighty  barges  that  lay  under 
the  shadow  of  the  elms,  moored  to  tall  white  poles  that  sent 
a  line  of  silver  down  into  the  glassy  and  troubled  water 
beneath.  Barges  in  blue,  and  barges  in  cream  and  gold, 
barges  with  splendid  prows  and  Gorgon  figure-heads,  barges 
with  steam-paddles  and  light  awnings  over  the  upper  deck, 
barges  with  that  deck  supported  by  pointed  arches,  as  if  a 
bit  of  an  old  cloister  had  been  carried  down  to  decorate  a 
pleasure-boat — all  these  resounded  to  the  blows  of  hammers, 
and  were  being  made  bright  with  many  colours.  The  Uni- 
versity barge  itself  had  been  dragged  out  of  the  water,  and 
was  also  undergoing  the  same  process  ;  although  the  cynical 
person  who  had  put  the  cushions  in  our  boat  had  just  re- 
marked, with  something  of  a  shrug — 

"  I  hope  that  the  mahn  as  has  got  the  job  '11  get  paid  for 
it,  for  the  'Varsity  Crew  are  up  to  their  necks  in  debt,  that's 
what  they  are  !  " 

When  once  we  had  got  away  from  Christ  Church  meadows, 
there  were  fewer  obstructions  in  our  course  ;  but  whether  it 
was  that  the  currents  of  the  river  defied  the  skill  of  our 
coxswain,  or  whether  it  was  that  the  Lieutenant  and  Bell, 
sitting  together  in  the  stern,  were  too  much  occupied  in 
pointing  out  to  each  other  the  beauties  of  the  scenery,  we 
found  ourselves  with  a  fatal  frequency  running  into  the 
bank,  with  the  prow  of  the  boat  hissing  through  the  rushes 
and  flags.  Nevertheless  we  managed  to  get  to  Iffley ;  and 
there,  having  moored  the  boat,  we  proceeded  to  land  and 
walk  up  to  the  old  church  on  the  brow  of  the  hill. 

"It's  what  they  calls  eerly  English,"  said  the  old  lady 
who  showed  us  over  the  ancient  building.  She  was  not 
a  talkative  person ;  she  was  accustomed  to  get  over  the 
necessary  information  rapidly,  and  then  spend  the  interval 
in  looking  curiously  at  the  tall  Lieutenant  and  his  brown 
beard.  She  did  not  betray  any  emotion  when  a  small 
gratuity  was  given  her.  She  had  not  even  said  "  Thank 
you  "  when  von  Rosen,  on  calling  for  the  keys  of  the  church, 


OF  A  PHAETON.  89 

had  found  the  gate  of  her  garden  unhinged,  and  had  laboured 
fully  ten  minutes  in  hammering  a  rusty  piece  of  iron  into 
the  wooden  post.  Perhaps  she  thought  it  was  Bell  who  had 
driven  down  the  gate  ;  but  at  all  events  she  expressed  no 
sense  of  gratitude  for  its  restoration. 

Near  an  old  yew-tree  there  was  a  small  grave — new-made 
and  green  with  grass — on  which  some  careful  hand  had 
placed  a  cross  composed  exclusively  of  red  and  white  roses. 
This  new  grave,  with  these  fresh  evidences  of  love  and  kindly 
remembrance  on  it,  looked  strange  in  the  rude  old  church- 
yard, where  stones  of  unknown  age  and  obliterated  names 
lay  tumbled  about  or  stood  awry  among  the  grass  and  weeds. 
Yet  this  very  disorder  and  decay,  as  Tita  said  gently,  seemed 
to  her  so  much  more  pleasant  than  the  cold  and  sharp  pre- 
cision of  the  iron  crosses  in  French  and  German  grave-yards, 
with  their  grim,  fantastic  decorations  and  wreaths  of  im- 
mortelles. She  stood  looking  at  this  small  grave  and  its 
pretty  cross  of  roses,  and  at  the  green  and  weather-worn 
stones,  and  at  the  black  old  yew-tree,  for  some  little  time  ; 
until  Bell — who  knows  of  something  that  happened  when 
Tita  was  but  a  girl,  and  her  brother  scarcely  more  than  a 
child — drew  her  gently  awTay  from  us,  towards  the  gate  of 
the  churchyard. 

"  Yes,"  said  the  Lieutenant,  not  noticing,  but  turning  to 
the  only  listener  remaining  ;  "  that  is  true.  I  think  your 
English  churchyards  in  the  country  are  very  beautiful — very 
picturesque — very  pathetic  indeed.  But  what  you  have  not 
in  this  country  are  the  beautiful  songs  about  death  that  we 
have — not  religious  hymns,  or  anything  like  that — but  small, 
little  poems  that  the  country-people  know  and  repeat  to  their 
children.  Do  you  know  that  one  that  says — 

Hier  schlummert  das  Herz, 

Bei'reit  von  betaubenden  Sorgen 

Es  weckt  uns  kein  Morgen 

Zu  grosserem  Sehrnerz. 

And  it  ends  this  way — 

Was  weinest  denn  du? 
Ich  trage  nun  muthig  mein  Leiden, 
Und  rufe  mit  Freuden, 
Ira  Grabe  1st  Rub.' ! 


90  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

There  was  one  of  my  comrades  in  the  war — he  was  from  my 
native  place,  but  not  in  my  regiment — he  was  a  very  good 
fellow — and  when  he  Avas  in  the  camp  before  Metz,  his 
companion  was  killed.  "Well,  he  buried  him  separate  from 
the  others,  and  went  about  till  he  got  somewhere  a  grave- 
stone, and  he  began  to  cut  out,  just  with  the  end  of  a 
bayonet,  these  two  verses  on  the  stone.  It  took  him  many 
weeks  to  do  that ;  and  I  did  hear  from  one  of  my  friends  in 
the  regiment  that  two  days  after  he  had  put  up  the  stone, 
he  was  himself  killed.  Oh,  it  is  very  hard  to  have  your 
companion  killed  beside  you,  and  he  is  away  from  his  friends, 
and  when  you  go  back  home  without  him — they  look  at  you 
as  if  you  had  no  right  to  be  alive  and  their  son  dead.  That 
is  very  hard — I  knew  it  in  Sixty-six,  when  I  went  back  to 
Berlin,  and  had  to  go  to  see  old  Madame  von  Hebel.  I  do 
hope  never  to  have  that  again." 

Is  there  a  prettier  bit  of  quiet  river-scenery  in  the  world 
than  that  around  Iffley  Mill  ?  Or  was  it  merely  the  glamour 
of  the  white  day  that  rendered  the  place  so  lovely,  and  made 
us  linger  in  the  open  stream  to  look  at  the  mill  and  its 
surroundings  ?  As  I  write,  there  lies  before  me  a  pencil 
sketch  of  our  Bell's,  lightly  dashed  here  and  there  with 
water-colour,  and  the  whole  scene  is  recalled.  There  is  the 
dilapidated  old  stone  building,  with  its  red  tiles,  its  crum- 
bling plaster,  its  wooden  projections,  and  small  windows, 
half -hidden  amid  foliage.  Further  down  the  river  there 
are  clumps  of  rounded  elms  visible ;  but  here  around  the 
mill  the  trees  are  chiefly  poplars,  of  magnificent  height,  that 
stretch  up  lightly  and  gracefully  into  a  quiet  yellow  sky,  and 
throw  gigantic  lines  of  reflection  down  into  the  still  water. 
Then  out  from  the  mill  a  small  island  runs  into  the  stream  ; 
the  woodwork  of  the  sluice-gates  bridges  the  interval  ;  there 
is  a  red  cow  amid  the  green  leafage  of  the  island  ;  and  here 
again  are  some  splendid  poplars,  rising  singly  up  from  the 
banks.  Beyond  is  another  house ;  then  a  wooden  bridge, 
and  a  low  line  of  trees  ;  finally  the  river,  in  a  sharp  curve, 
glimmers  in  the  light  and  loses  itself  behind  low-lying 
meadows  and  a  marginal  growth  of  willow  and  flag. 

For  very  shame's  sake,  the  big  Lieutenant  was  forced  to 
offer  to  take  Tita's  oar,  as  we  once  more  proceeded  on  our 
voyage  ;  but  she  definitely  refused  to  endanger  our  lives  by 


OP  A  PHAETON.  91 

any  sucli  experiment.  A  similar  offer  on  the  part  of  Bell 
met  with  a  similar  fate.  Indeed,  when  this  little  woman 
has  once  made  up  her  mind  to  do  a  certain  thing,  the 
reserve  of  physical  and  intellectual  vigour  that  lies  within 
the  slight  frame  and  behind  a  smooth  and  gentle  face, 
shows  itself  to  be  extraordinary.  Place  before  her  some 
arithmetical  conundrum  that  she  must  solve  in  order  to 
question  the  boys,  or  give  her  an  oar  and  engage  her  to  pull 
for  a  certain  number  of  miles,  and  the  amount  of  patient 
perseverance  and  unobtrusive  energy  she  will  reveal  will 
astonish  most  people.  In  the  meantime,  her  task  was  easy. 
"We  were  going  with  the  stream.  And  so  we  glided  on 
between  the  green  banks,  under  the  railway-bridge,  past  the 
village  of  Kennington,  past  Eose  Isle,  with  its  bowers,  and 
tables,  and  beer-glasses,  and  lounging  young  fellows  in 
white  trousers  and  blue  jackets,  and  so  on  until  we  got 
to  Sandford  Lock.  Here,  also,  we  fastened  the  boat  to  the 
bank,  close  by  the  mill,  and  went  ashore  for  half  an  hour's 
stroll.  But  while  Tita  made  direct,  as  she  generally  does  on 
entering  a  new  village,  for  the  church,  the  Lieutenant  went 
off  in  quest  of  beer  ;  and  when  we  came  back  to  the  boat,  he 
had  a  wonderful  story  to  tell  us.  He  had  made  friends 
with  some  innkeeper  or  other  ;  and  had  imbibed  from  him 
a  legend  which  was  a  curious  mixture  of  fact  and  in- 
ference and  blunder.  Von  Rosen  had  doubtless  mistaken 
much  of  the  Oxfordshire  patois  ;  for  how  could  any  man 
make  a  reasonable  narrative  out  of  the  following  ? — 

"  And  he  told  me  it  was  a  farmer's  house  in  the  village — 
the  village  of  Sandford,  I  suppose — and  while  they  took  it 
down  to  repair  it,  they  were  lifting  up  the  floors,  and  many 
strange  things  were  there.  And  he  said,  among  the  non- 
sense and  useless  rubbish  they  were  finding  there,  was  a  hat ; 
and  the  man  brought  the  hat  down  to  him  ;  and  he  saw  it 
was  a  chevalier's  hat " 

"  A  cavalier's  hat,"  suggested  Bell ;  and  the  Lieutenant 
assented. 

"  Then  the  farmer  went  up  to  the  house,  and  he  found 
some  hidden  letters,  and  one  was  to  Ettrick — to  some 
soldier  who  was  then  on  a  campaign  at  the  river  Ettrick  in 
the  north.  And  they  found  that  it  was  in  this  very  house 
that  King  Charles  the  First  did  cut  off  his  beard  and 


92  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

moustache — I  suppose  when  he  was  flying  from  the 
Parliamentary  army  ;  but  I  am  forgetting  all  about  that 
history  now,  and  the  innkeeper  was  not  sure  about  the 
battle.  Well,  then,  the  news  was  sent  to  London  ;  and  a 
gentleman  came  down  who  is  the  only  surviving  descender — 
descendant — of  King  Charles,  and  he  took  away  the  hat  to 
London,  and  you  will  find  it  in  the  British  Museum.  It  is 
a  very  curious  story,  and  I  would  have  come  after  you,  and 
showed  you  the  house  ;  but  I  suppose  it  is  a  new  house  now, 
and  nothing  to  look  at.  But  do  you  know  when  the  king- 
was  in  this  neighbourhood  in  escaping  ?  " 

Here  was  a  poser  for  the  women. 

"  I  don't  remember,"  said  Tita,  looking  very  profound, 
"  to  have  seen  anything  about  Oxford  in  Lord  Clarendon's 
narrative  of  the  King's  escape  after  the  Battle  of  Wor- 
cester." 

"  Mamma  !  "  said  Bell,  in  accents  of  reproach,  "  that  was 
Charles  the  Second." 

"  To  be  sure  it  was,"  returned  Tita,  with  a  gesture  of 
impatience  ;  "  and  he  couldn't  have  come  this  way,  for  he 
went  to  Bristol.  But  Charles  the  First  was  continually 
at  Oxford — he  summoned  the  Parliament  to  meet  him 
here " 

"  And  shaved  off  his  beard  to  curry  favour  with  them," 
it  was  suggested. 

"  You  needn't  laugh.  Of  course,  when  he  was  finally 
defeated  he  fled  from  Oxford,  and  very  probably  disguised 
himself." 

"  And  when  did  he  fly,  and  whither  ?  " 

"  To  Scotland,"  said  Bell  triumphantly,  "  and  after  the 
battle  of  Naseby." 

"  Good  girl.     And  where  is  Naseby  ?  " 

"  Well,  if  he  fled  north-east  from  the  Parliamentary  army, 
Naseby  must  be  in  the  south-west ;  and  so  I  suppose  it  is 
somewhere  down  about  Gloucester." 

"  Herr  Professor  Oswald,  where  is  Naseby  ?  " 

"  I  do  not  know,"  said  the  Lieutenant ;  "  but  I  think  it  is 
more  in  the  north,  and  not  far  from  the  country  of  your  great 
man  Harnpden.  But  he  was  killed  before  then,  I  think." 

"And  pray,"  said  Queen  Tita,  taking  her  seat,  and 
putting  her  oar  into  the  rowlock,  "  will  you  please  tell  me 


OF  A  PHAETON.  93 

what  you  think  of  those  men — of  Cromwell  and  Hampden  and 
those — and  what  your  historians  say  of  them  in  Germany  ?  " 
"Why,  they  say  all  kinds  of  things  about  them,"  said 
the  Lieutenant,  lightly — not  knowing  that  he  was  being 
questioned  as  a  representative  of  the  feudal  aristocracy  of  a 
country  in  which  the  divine  right  of  kings  is  supposed  to 
flourish — "  just  as  your  historians  do  here.  But  we  know 
very  well  that  England  has  got  much  of  her  liberty  through 
that  fight  with  the  king,  and  yet  you  have  been  able  to  keep  a 
balance,  and  not  let  the  lowest  classes  run  riot  and  destroy 
your  freedom.  They  were  ambitious  ?  Yes.  If  a  man  is 
in  politics,  does  not  he  fight  hard  to  make  his  side  win  ?  If 
he  is  a  soldier,  does  not  he  like  to  be  victorious  ?  And  if  I 
could  be  King  of  England,  do  you  not  think  I  should  like 
that  very  well,  and  try  hard  for  it  ?  But  if  these  men  had 
their  own  ambitions,  and  wanted  to  get  fame  and  honour, 
I  am  sure  they  had  much  of  righteousness  and  belief,  and 
would  not  have  fought  in  that  way  and  overturned  the  king 
if  they  believed  that  was  an  injury  to  their  country  or  to 
their  religion.  And  besides  what  could  this  man  or  that 
man  have  done  except  he  had  a  great  enthusiasm  of  the 
nation  behind  him — if  he  did  not  represent  a  principle  ? 
But  I  have  no  right  to  speak  of  such  things  as  if  I  were 
telling  you  of  our  German  historians.  That  is  only  my 
guess,  and  I  have  read  not  much  about  it.  But  you  must 
not  suppose  that  because  we  in  Germany  have  not  the  same 
political  system  that  you  have,  that  we  cannot  tell  the  value 
of  yours,  and  the  good  it  has  done  to  the  character  of  your 
people.  Our  German  historians  are  many  of  them  professors 
in  universities,  and  they  spend  their  lives  in  finding  out  the 
truth  of  such  things  ;  and  do  you  think  they  care  what  may 
be  the  opinion  of  their  own  government  about  it  ?  Oh,  no. 
They  are  very  independent  in  the  universities — much  too 
independent,  I  think.  It  is  very  pleasant  when  you  are  a 
very  young  man,  to  get  into  a  university,  and  think  yourself 
very  wise,  and  go  to  extremes  about  politics,  and  say  hard 
things  of  your  own  country  ;  but  when  you  come  out  into 
the  world,  and  see  how  you  have  to  keep  your  country  from 
enemies  that  are  not  separated  by  the  sea  from  you  (as  you 
are  here  in  England),  you  see  how  bad  are  these  principles 
among  young  men,  who  do  not  like  to  be  obedient,  and  always 


94  "THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

want  to  hurry  on  new  systems  of  government  before  such 
things  are  possible.  But  you  do  not  see  much  of  those  wild 
opinions  when  a  war  comes,  and  the  young  men  are  marched 
together  to  save  their  country.  Then  they  forget  all  the 
democratic  notions  of  this  kind  ;  it  is  their  heart  that  speaks 
and  it  is  on  fire  ;  and  not  one  is  ashamed  to  be  patriotic, 
though  he  may  have  laughed  at  it  a  week  before." 

"  It  must  be  very  hard,"  said  Bell,  looking  away  at  the 
river,  "  to  leave  your  home  and  go  into  a  foreign  country,  and 
know  that  you  may  never  return." 

"  Oh,  no  ;  not  much,"  said  the  Lieutenant  :  "  for  all  your 
friends  go  with  you.  And  you  are  not  always  in  danger — 
you  have  much  entertainment  at  times,  especially  when  some 
fight  is  over,  and  all  your  friends  meet  again  to  have  a 
supper  in  the  tent,  and  some  one  has  got  a  bottle  of  cognac, 
and  some  one  else  has  got  a  letter  from  home,  full  of  gossip 
about  people  you  know  very  well.  And  there  is  much  fun, 
too,  in  riding  over  the  country,  and  trying  to  find  food  and 
quarters  for  yourself  and  your  horse.  We  had  many  good 
parties  in  the  deserted  farmhouses  ;  and  sometimes  we  caught 
a  hen  or  a  duck  that  the  people  had  neglected  to  take  ;  and 
then  we  kindled  a  big  fire,  and  killed  him,  and  fixed  him  on 
a  lauce,  and  roasted  him  well,  feathers  and  all.  Then  we  were 
very  lucky — to  have  a  fire,  and  good  meat,  and  a  roof  to 
keep  off  the  rain.  But  it  was  more  dangerous  in  a  house  ; 
for  it  was  difficult  to  keep  from  sleeping  after  you  had  got 
warm  and  had  eaten  and  drunk  perhaps  a  Little  too  much 
wine  ;  and  there  were  many  people  about  ready  to  fire  at  you. 
But  these  are  not  heroic  stories  of  a  campaign,  are  they, 
Mademoiselle  ?  " 

Nevertheless,  Mademoiselle  seemed  sufficiently  interested  ; 
and  as  Tita  and  I  pulled  evenly  back  to  Iffley  and  Oxford, 
she  continually  brought  the  Lieutenant  round  to  this  subject 
by  a  series  of  questions.  This  modern  maiden  was  as 
anxious  to  hear  of  the  amusements  of  patrols,  and  the  hair- 
breadth escapes  of  dare-devil  sub-lieutenants,  as  was 
Desdemona  to  listen  to  her  lover's  stories  of  battles,  sieges, 
fortunes,  and  moving  accidents  by  flood  and  field. 

That  was  a  pleasant  pull  back  to  Oxford,  in  the  quiet  of 
the  summer  afternoon,  with  the  yellow  light  lying  warmly 
over  the  level  meadows  and  the  woods.  There  were  more 


OF  A  PHAETOtf.  95 

people  now  along  the  banks  of  the  river — come  out  for  the 
most  part  in  couples  to  wander  along  the  pathway  between 
the  stream  and  the  fields.  Many  of  them  had  a  good  look 
at  our  Bonny  Bell ;  and  the  Radley  boys,  as  they  sent  their 
long  boats  spinning  down  the  river  towards  Sandford,  were 
apparently  much  struck.  Bell,  unconscious  of  the  innocent 
admiration  of  those  poor  boys,  was  attending  much  more  to 
the  talk  of  our  Uhlan  than  to  her  tiller-ropes.  As  for  him 
— but  what  man  would  not  have  looked  contented  under 
these  conditions — to  be  strong,  healthy,  handsome,  and  only 
twenty-five  ;  to  have  comfortable  means  and  an  assured 
future  ;  to  have  come  out  of  a  long  and  dangerous  campaign 
with  honour  and  sound  limbs  ;  to  be  off  on  a  careless  holi- 
day through  the  most  beautiful  country,  take  it  for  all  in  all, 
in  the  world  ;  and  to  be  lying  lazily  in  a  boat  on  a  summer's 
evening,  on  a  pretty  English  river,  with  a  pretty  English 
girl  showing  her  friendly  interest  and  attention  in  every 
glance  of  her  blue  eyes  ? 

You  should  have  seen  how  naturally  those  two  fell  behind 
us,  and  formed  a  couple  by  themselves,  when  we  had  left  the 
boat  and  were  returning  to  our  inn.  But  as  we  walked  up 
to  Carfax,  Bell  separated  herself  from  us  for  a  moment  and 
went  into  the  post-office.  She  was  a  considerable  time  there. 
When  she  came  out,  she  was  folding  up  a  letter  which  she 
had  been  reading. 

"  You  have  got  your  letter  at  last,"  said  Tita. 

"  Yes,"  said  Bell,  gravely,  but  showing  no  particular  glad- 
ness or  disappointment. 

At  dinner  she  was  rather  reserved  ;  and  so,  curiously 
enough,  was  the  Lieutenant.  After  dinner,  when  we  were 
allowed  half  an  hour  by  ourselves  for  a  cigar,  he  suddenly 
said — • 

"Why  do  you  not  interfere  with  that  stupid  young 
fellow  ? " 

"  Who  ?  "  I  asked,  in  blank  amazement. 

"Why,  that  young  fellow  at  Twickenham— it  is  quite 
monstrous,  his  impertinence.  If  I  were  the  guardian  of 
such  a  girl,  I  would  kick  him — I  would  throw  him  into  the 
river  and  cool  him  there." 

"  What  in  all  the  world  do  you  mean  ?  " 

"  Why,  you  must  know.    The  letter  that  Miss  Bell  did  ask 


96  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

for  more  than  once,  ifc  is  from  him  ;  and  now  when  it  comes, 
it  is  angry,  it  is  impertinent — she  is  nearly  crying  all  the 
time  at  dinner .  Sacforment  I  It  is  for  some  one  to  interfere, 
and  save  her  from  this  insult — this  persecution " 

"  Don't  bite  your  cigar  to  pieces,  but  tell  me,  if  you  please, 
how  you  happen  to  know  what  was  in  the  letter." 

"  She  told  me,"  said  the  Lieutenant,  sullenly. 

"  When  ?  " 

"  Just  before  you  came  down  to  dinner.  It  is  no  business 
of  mine — no  ;  but  when  I  saw  her  vexed  and  disturbed,  I 
asked  her  to  teh1  me  why ;  and  then  she  said  she  had  got 
this  letter,  which  was  a  very  cruel  one  to  send.  Oh,  there  is 
no  mystery — none.  I  suppose  he  has  a  right  to  marry  her 
— very  well ;  but  he  is  not  married  yet ;  and  he  must  not  be 
allowed  to  do  this." 

"  Bell  at  least  might  have  told  me  of  it,  or  have  confided 
in  Tita— 

"  Oh,  she  is  telling  her  now,  I  dare  say.  And  she  will  tell 
you  too,  when  there  are  not  all  of  us  present.  It  is  no 
secret,  or  she  would  not  have  told  me.  Indeed,  I  think  she 
was  very  sorry  about  that ;  but  she  was  very  much  vexed, 
and  I  asked  her  so  plain,  that  she  answered  me.  And  that 
is  much  better  to  have  confidence  between  people,  instead  of 
keeping  all  such  vexations  to  yourself.  Then  I  ask  her  why 
he  is  angry  ?  and  she  says  only  because  she  has  gone  away. 
Pfui !  I  have  never  heard  such  nonsense  !  " 

"  My  dear  Oswald,"  I  say  to  him,  "  don't  you  interfere 
between  two  young  people  who  have  fallen  out,  or  you  will 
suffer.  Unless  indeed •" 

"  Unless  what  ?  " 

"  Unless  they  happen  to  be  angels." 

"  Do  you  know  this — that  he  is  coining  to  see  her  ?  " 

"  Well  the  phaeton  can  hold  five  at  a  pinch.  Why  should 
not  we  have  an  addition  to  our  party  ?  " 

"  Yery  good.  I  do  not  care.  But  if  he  is  rude  to  her,  he 
will  not  be  very  long  in  the  phaeton." 

"  Why,  you  stupid  boy,  you  take  these  lovers'  quarrels  au 
serieux.  Do  you  think  he  has  been  positively  rude  to 
her  ?  Nothing  of  the  kind.  He  has  been  too  well  brought 
up  for  that,  although  he  has  a  peevish  temper.  He  might 
be  with  us  all  through  the  journey " 


Of  A  PHAETON.  97 

uJott  iewahre!  "  exclaimed  the  Count,  with  a  kick  at  a 
cork  that  was  lying  on  the  carpet. 

" — And  these  two  might  be  at  daggers  drawn  and  you 
would  see  nothing  of  it.  Indeed,  young  people  never  get 
extremely  courteous  to  each  other  until  they  quarrel  and 
stand  on  their  dignity.  Now,  if  you  had  seen  that  letter, 
you  would  have  found  it  respectful  and  formal  in  the  highest 
degree — perhaps  a  trifle  sarcastic  here  and  there,  for  the  lad 
unhappily  thinks  he  has  a  gift  that  way — but  you  would 
find  no  rhetorical  indignation  or  invective." 

The  Count  threw  his  cigar  into  the  grate. 

"  They  will  be  waiting  for  us,"  he  said  ;  "  let  us  go." 

We  found  Tita  with  the  bezique-cards  spread  out  before 
her.  Bell  looked  up  with  rather  a  frightened  air,  apparently 
conscious  that  the  Lieutenant  was  likely  to  have  spoken 
about  what  she  had  confided  to  him  at  the  impulse  of  a 
momentary  vexation.  However,  we  sat  down. 

The  game  was  an  open  and  palpable  burlesque.  Was 
Ferdinand  very  intent  on  giving  checkmate  when  he  played 
chess  with  Miranda  in  the  cave  ;  or  was  he  not  much  more 
bent  upon  placing  his  king  in  extreme  danger  and  offering 
his  queen  so  that  she  had  to  be  taken  ?  The  audacious 
manner  in  which  this  young  Lieutenant  played  his  cards  so 
as  to  suit  Bell  was  apparent  to  everyone,  though  no  one  dared 
speak  of  it,  and  Bell  only  blushed  sometimes.  When  she 
timidly  put  forth  a  ten,  he  was  sure  to  throw  away  another 
ten,  although  he  had  any  amount  of  aces  in  his  hand.  He 
spoiled  his  best  combinations  rather  than  take  tricks  when 
it  was  clear  she  wanted  to  lead.  Nay,  as  he  sat  next  to  her, 
he  undertook  the  duty  of  marking  her  various  scores  ;  and 
the  manner  in  which  the  small  brass  hand  went  circling 
round  the  card  was  singular,  until  Tita  suddenly  exclaimed — 

"  Why,  that  is  only  a  common  marriage  !  " 

"  And  do  you  not  count  forty  for  a  common  marriage  ?  " 
he  said,  with  a  fine  assumption  of  wonder. 

Such  was  the  ending  of  our  first  day's  rest ;  and  then, 
just  before  candles  were  lit,  a  Cabinet  Council  was  held  to 
decide  whether  on  the  morrow  we  should  choose  as  our 
halting-place  Moreton-in-the-Marsh  or  Bourton-on-the-Hill. 
The  more  elevated  site  won  the  day. 


THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

NEAR  WOODSTOCK  TOWN. 

"In  olde  dayes  of  the  king  Arthoiir, 
Of  which  that  Britons  speake  great  honour, 
All  was  this  land  full  filled  of  faerie ; 
The  Elf-queen,  with  her  jolly  company, 
Danced  full  oft  in  many  a  green  mead. 
This  was  the  old  opinion,  as  I  read ; 
I  speak  of  many  a  hundred  years  ago  ; 
But  now  can  no  man  see  no  elves  mo'." 

THE  phaeton  stood  in  the  High  Street  of  Oxford.  Castor 
and  Pollux,  a  trifle  impatient  after  the  indolence  of  the  day 
before,  were  pawing  the  hard  stones,  their  silken  coats 
shining  in  the  morning  sunlight  ;  Queen  Titania  had  the 
reins  in  her  hands  ;  the  tall  waiter  who  had  been  a  circus- 
rider  was  ready  to  smile  us  an  adieu ;  and  we  were  all 
waiting  for  the  Lieutenant,  who  had  gone  off  in  search  of  a 
map  that  Bell  had  forgotten. 

If  there  is  one  thing  more  than  another  likely  to  ruffle 
the  superhuman  sweetness  of  my  Lady's  temper,  it  is  to  be 
kept  waiting  in  a  public  thoroughfare  with  a  pair  of  rather 
restive  horses  under  her  charge.  I  began  to  fear  for  that 
young  man.  Tita  turned  once  or  twice  to  the  entrance  of 
the  hotel ;  and  at  last  she  said,  with  an  ominous  politeness 
in  her  tone — 

"  It  does  seem  to  me  singular  that  Count  von  Rosen 
should  be  expected  to  look  after  such  things.  He  is  our 
guest.  It  is  no  compliment  to  give  him  the  duty  of 
attending  to  our  luggage." 

"  My  dear,"  said  Bell,  leaning  over  and  speaking  in  very 
penitent  tones,  "  it  is  entirely  my  fault.  I  am  very  sorry." 

"  I  think  he  is  much  too  good-natured,"  says  Tita,  coldly. 

At  this  Bell  rather  recedes,  and  says,  with  almost  equal 
coldness — 

"  I  am  sorry  to  have  given  him  so  much  trouble.  In 
future  I  shall  try  to  do  without  his  help." 

But  when  the  Count  did  appear — wnen  he  took  his  seat 
beside  Tita,  and  we  rattled  up  the  High  Street  and  round 


OF  A  PHAETON.  99 

by  the  Corn  Market,  and  past  Magdalen  Church,  and  so 
out  by  St.  Giles's  Road,  the  remembrance  of  this  little 
preliminary  skirmish  speedily  passed  away.  For  once  more 
we  appeared  to  have  left  towns  and  streets  behind  us  ;  and 
even  while  yet  there  were  small  villas  and  gardens  by  the 
side  of  the  road,  the  air  that  blew  about  on  this  bright 
morning  seemed  to  have  a  new  sweetness  in  it,  and  the 
freshness  and  pleasant  odours  of  innumerable  woods  and 
fields.  There  was  quite  a  cheerful  light,  too,  in  Bell's  face. 
She  had  come  downstairs  with  an  obvious  determination  to 
cast  aside  the  remembrance  of  that  letter.  There  was  some- 
thing even  defiant  in  the  manner  in  which  she  said — in 
strict  confidence,  be  it  observed — that  if  Arthur  Ashburton 
did  intend  to  come  and  meet  us  in  some  town  or  other, 
there  was  no  use  in  being  vexed  about  it  in  the  meantime. 
"We  were  now  getting  into  the  open  country,  where  pursuit 
would  be  in  vain.  If  he  overtook  us,  it  would  be  through 
the  mechanism  of  railways.  His  only  chance  of  obtaining 
an  interview  with  Bell  was  to  lie  in  wait  for  us  in  one  of 
the  big  towns  through  which  we  must  pass. 

"  But  why,"  said  the  person  to  whom  Bell  revealed  these 
matters,  "  why  should  you  be  afraid  to  meet  Arthur  ?  You 
have  not  quarrelled  with  him." 

"  No,"  said  Bell,  looking  down. 

"  You  have  done  nothing  he  can  object  to." 

"He  has  no  right  to  object,  whatever  I  may  do,"  she 
said  with  a  gentle  firmness.  "  But,  you  know,  he  is 
annoyed  ;  and  you  cannot  reason  with  him  ;  and  I  am  sorry 
for  him — and — and — and  what  is  the  name  of  this  little 
village  on  the  left  ?  " 

Bell  seemed  to  shake  off  this  subject  from  her,  as  too 
vexatious  on  such  a  fine  morning. 

"  That  is  Woolvercot  ;  and  there  is  the  road  that  leads 
down  to  Godstow,  and  the  ruins  of  Godstow  Nunnery,  in 
which  Rosamond  Clifford  lived  and  died." 

"  And  I  suppose  she  rode  along  this  very  highway,"  said 
Bell,  "  with  people  wondering  at  her  beauty  and  her  jewels, 
when  she  used  to  live  at  Woodstock.  Yet  it  is  a  very 
ordinary-looking  road." 

Then  she  touched  Tita  on  the  shoulder. 

"  Are  we  going  to  stop  at  Blenheim  ?  "  she  asked, 

H  2 


loo  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

"  I  suppose  so,"  said  our  driver. 

"  I  think  we  ought  not,"  said  Bell ;  "  we  shall  be  greatly 
disappointed,  if  we  do.  For  who  cares  about  the  Duke  of 
Maiiborough,  or  Sir  John  Yanbrugh's  architecture  ?  You 
know  you  will  be  looking  about  the  trees  for  the  old  knight 
with  the  white  beard,  and  for  Alice  Lee,  and  for  pretty 
Phoebe  Mayflower,  and  for  Wildrake  and  the  soldiers. 
Wouldn't  it  be  better  to  go  past  the  walls,  Tita,  and  fancy 
that  all  these  old  friends  of  ours  are  still  walking  about 
in  their  picturesque  costume  ?  If  we  go  inside,  we  shall 
only  find  an  empty  park  and  a  big  house,  and  all  those 
people  gone  away,  just  like  the  fairies  who  used  to  be  in  the 
woods." 

"  But  what  are  the  people  you  are  speaking  of  ? "  said  the 
Count.  "  Is  it  from  history,  or  from  a  romance  ?  " 

"  I  am  not  quite  sure,"  said  Bell,  "  how  much  is  history, 
and  how  much  is  romance  ;  but  I  am  sure  we  know  the 
people  very  well ;  and  very  strange  things  happened  inside 
the  park  that  we  shall  pass  by  and  by.  There  was  a  pretty 
young  lady  living  there,  and  a  very  sober  and  staid  colonel 
was  her  lover.  The  brother  of  this  young  lady  was  much 
attached  to  the  fortunes  of  the  Stewarts  ;  and  he  brought  the 
young  Prince  Charles  in  disguise  to  the  house  ;  and  all  the 
gratitude  shown  by  the  Prince  was  that  he  began  to  amuse 
himself  by  making  love  to  the  sister  of  the  man  who  had 
risked  his  life  to  save  him.  And  of  course  the  grave  colonel 
discovered  it ;  and  he  even  drew  his  sword  upon  Prince 
Charles— 

"  I  beg  your  pardon,  Mademoiselle,"  said  the  Lieutenant, 
"  but  do  not  trouble  to  tell  me  the  story,  for  I  know  it  very 
well.  I  did  read  it  in  Germany  years  ago  ;  and  I  think  if 
Colonel  Esmond  had  thrashed  the  Prince — 

"  Oh  no,  you  are  mistaken,"  said  Bell,  with  some  winder  ; 
"  it  is  Colonel  Markham,  not  Colonel  Esmond  ;  and  the 
brother  of  the  young  lady  succeeded  in  getting  the  Prince 
away  just  before  Cromwell  had  time  to  seize  him." 

"  Cromwell  ?  "  said  our  Lieutenant,  thoughtfully.  "  Ah, 
then,  it  is  another  story.  But  I  agree  with  you,  Made- 
moiselle :  if  you  believe  in  these  people  very  much,  do  not 
go  into  the  park,  or  you  will  be  disappointed." 

"As  you  please,"  said  Tita,  with  a  smile. — I  began  to 


OF  A  PHAETON1.  101 

observe  that  when  these  two  young  folks  agreed  about  any- 
thing, my  Lady  became  nothing  more  than  an  echo  to  their 
wishes. 

At  length  we  came  to  the  walls  that  surrounded  the  great 
park.  Should  we  leave  all  its  mysteries  unexplored  ?  If 
one  were  to  clamber  up,  and  peep  over,  might  not  strange 
figures  be  seen,  in  buff  coats  and  red,  with  bandoleers  and 
helmets  ;  and  an  aged  knight  with  a  laced  cloak,  slashed 
boots,  and  long  sword  ;  countrywomen  in  white  hoods  and 
black  gowns ;  divines  with  tall  Presbyterian  hats  and  solemn 
visage  ;  a  braggart  and  drunken  soldier  of  the  king,  and  a 
colonel  the  servant  of  Cromwell  ?  Or  might  not  Queen 
Elizabeth  be  descried,  looking  out  as  a  prisoner  on  the  fair 
domains  around  her  ?  Or  might  not  Chaucer  be  found 
loitering  under  those  great  trees  that  he  loved  and  celebrated 
in  his  verse  ?  Or,  behind  that  splendid  wall  of  chestnuts 
and  elms,  was  it  not  possible  that  Fair  Rosamond  herself 
might  be  walking  all  alone,  passing  like  a  gleam  of  light 
through  the  green  shadows  of  the  trees,  or  sitting  by  the 
well  that  still  bears  her  name,  or  reading  in  the  heart  of  that 
bower  that  was  surrounded  by  cunning  ways  ?  Was  it 
along  this  road  that  Eleanor  came  ?  Or  did  Rosamond, 
surviving  all  her  sin  and  her  splendour,  sometimes  walk  this 
way  with  her  sister-nuns  from  Godstow,  and  think  of  the 
time  when  she  was  mistress  of  a  royal  palace  and  this 
spacious  park  ? 

We  drove  into  the  town  of  Woodstock.  The  handful  of 
houses  thrown  into  the  circular  hollow  that  is  cut  in  two  by 
the  river  Glym  was  as  silent  as  death.  In  the  broad  street 
that  plunged  down  into  the  valley,  scarcely  a  soul  was  to  be 
seen ;  and  even  about  the  old  town-hall  there  were  only 
some  children  visible.  Had  the  play  been  played  out,  and 
the  actors  gone  for  ever  ?  When  King  Henry  was  fighting 
in  France  or  in  Ireland,  doubtless  Rosamond,  left  all  by 
herself,  ventured  out  from  the  park,  and  walked  into  the 
small  town,  and  revealed  to  the  simple  folks  the  wonders 
of  her  face,  and  talked  to  them.  No  mortal  woman  could 
have  remained  in  a  bower  month  after  month  without  seeing 
anyone  but  her  attendants.  Doubtless,  too,  the  people  in 
this  quaint  little  place  were  very  loyal  towards  her ;  and 
would  have  espoused  her  cause  against  a  dozen  Eleanors. 


102  TfiE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

And  so  ifc  happened,  possibly,  that  when  the  romance  came 
to  an  end,  and  Rosamond  went  to  hide  her  shame  and 
her  penitence  in  the  nunnery  of  Godstow,  all  the  light  and 
colour  went  out  of  Woodstock,  and  left  it  dull,  and  grey, 
and  silent  as  it  is  to  this  day. 

The  main  street  of  Woodstock,  that  dips  sharply  to  the 
banks  of  the  Grlym,  rises  as  abruptly  on  the  other  side  ;  and, 
once  past  the  turnpike,  the  highway  runs  along  an  elevated 
ridge,  which  on  the  one  side  is  bounded  by  a  continuation 
of  Blenheim  Park,  and,  on  the  other,  slopes  down  to  a  broad 
extent  of  level  meadows.  When  we  had  got  up  to  this 
higher  ground,  and  found  before  us  an  illimitable  stretch  of 
country,  with  ourselves  as  the  only  visible  inhabitants,  the 
Lieutenant  managed  to  introduce  a  remote  hint  about  a 
song  which  he  had  heard  Bell  humming  in  the  morning. 

"  I  think  it  was  about  Woodstock,"  he  said  ;  "  and  if  you 
will  please  to  sing  it  now,  as  we  go  along,  I  shall  get  out  for 
you  the  guitar." 

"  If  you  will  be  so  kind,"  said  Bell,  quite  submissively. 

What  had  become  of  the  girl's  independence  ?  Asked  to 
sing  a  song  at  great  trouble  to  herself — for  who  cares  to 
play  a  guitar  in  the  back-seat  of  a  phaeton,  and  with  two 
pairs  of  wheels  rumbling  an  accompaniment  ? — she  meekly 
thanks  him  for  suggesting  it !  Nay,  it  was  becoming 
evident  that  the  girl  was  schooling  herself  into  docility. 
She  had  almost  dropped  entirely  the  wild  phrases  and  start- 
ling metaphors  that  so  deeply  shocked  Queen  Tita.  Some- 
times they  dropped  out  inadvertently ;  and  sometimes,  too, 
she  gave  way  to  those  impulsive  imaginative  flights  that  led 
her  unthinkingly  into  an  excitement  of  talk  which  Tita  used 
to  regard  with  a  sort  of  amused  wonder.  But  of  late  all  these 
things  were  gradually  disappearing.  She  was  less  abrupt, 
independent,  wayward  in  her  manner.  She  waited  more 
patiently  to  receive  suggestions  from  others.  She  was  be- 
coming a  good  listener  ;  and  she  received  meekly  criticisms 
that  would,  but  a  short  time  before,  have  driven  her  into  a 
proud  and  defiant  silence,  or  provoked  some  rejoinder  a 
good  deal  more  apt  than  gentle.  It  was  very  odd  to  mark 
this  amiable  self-discipline  struggling  with  her  ordinary  frank 
impetuosity  ;  although  sometimes,  it  is  true,  the  latter  had 
the  best  of  it, 


OF  A  PHAETON.  103 

On  this  occasion,  when  the  Lieutenant  had  jumped  down 
and  got  out  the  guitar  for  her,  she  took  it  very  obediently  ; 
and  then  Tita  rested  the  horses  for  a  little  while  under  the 
shadow  of  some  overhanging  trees.  Of  course  you  know 
the  ballad  that  Bell  naturally  turned  to,  seeing  where  she 
was  at  the  moment,  and  the  sort  of  music  she  was  most 
familiar  with. 

"Near  Woodstock  town  I  chanced  to  stray, 
When  birds  did  sing  and  fields  were  gay, 
And  by  a  glassy  river's  side 
A  weeping  damsel  I  espied." 

This  was  what  she  sang,  telling  the  story  of  the  forlorn 
maiden  who  was  found  weeping  for  her  faithless  lover,  who 
only  wished  that  he  might  come  and  visit  her  grave,  and 
think  of  her  as  "  one  who  loved,  but  could  not  hate."  Per- 
haps this  old-fashioned  ballad  is  not  a  masterly  composition  ; 
but  the  music  of  it  is  expressive  enough  ;  and  we  who  were 
familiar  with  Bell's  ballads  had  got  into  a  habit  of  not 
caring  much  what  she  sang,  as  long  as  she  only  continued 
singing. 

"You  could  make  your  fortune  by  your  songs,"  said 
Tita,  as  Bell  finished,  and  the  horses  were  sent  forward. 

"  Perhaps,"  said  the  girl,  "  if  all  my  audience  were  like 
you.  But  I  think  you  must  have  been  lent  out  as  an  infant 
to  an  old  woman  with  an  organ,  and  so,  by  merely  sitting 
on  the  vibrating  wood,  you  have  become  so  sensitive  to 
music  that  anything  at  all  pleases  you." 

"  No,  Mademoiselle,"  said  the  Lieutenant,  "  you  do  your- 
self an  injustice.  I  never  heard  a  voice  like  yours,  that  has 
the  tremble  of  a  zither  in  it,  and  is  much  softer  than  a 
zither." 

Bell  blushed  deeply ;  but  to  conceal  her  embarrassment, 
she  said  lightly  to  Tita — 

"  And  how  am  I  to  make  my  fortune  ?  Oh,  I  know, — 
by  coming  in  after  public  dinners,  to  sing  grace,  and  follow 
the  toasts  with  a  glee.  I  am  in  white  silk,  with  a  blue 
ribbon  round  my  neck,  white  gloves,  bracelets,  and  a  sheet 
of  music.  There  is  an  elderly  lady  in  black  velvet  and 
pearls,  who  smiles  in  a  pleasant  manner — she  sings,  and 
is  much  admired  by  the  long  rows  of  gentlemen — they 


104  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

have  just  dined,  you  know,  and  are  very  nice  and  amiable. 
Then  there  is  the  tenor — fair  and  smooth,  with  diamond 
rings,  a  lofty  expression,  and  a  cool  and  critical  eye,  that 
shows  he  is  quite  accustomed  to  all  this.  Then  there  is  the 
stout,  red-bearded  man  who  sings  bass,  and  plays  the  piano 
for  the  four  of  us,  and  is  very  tierce  in  the  way  he  thumps 
out  his  enthusiasm  about  the  Queen,  and  the  Navy,  and  the 
Army,  and  the  Volunteers.  What  a  happy  way  of  living 
that  must  be  !  They  will  give  us  a  nice  dinner  beforehand — 
in  a  room  by  ourselves,  perhaps  ;  and  all  we  have  to  do  is  to 
return  thanks  for  it  in  an  emotional  way,  so  that  all  the 
waiters  shall  stand  round  in  a  reverential  manner.  But 
wrhen  that  is  over,  then  we  introduce  a  few  songs — sprightly, 
coquettish  songs,  and  the  gentlemen  are  vastly  amused — and 
you  think " 

"  Well,  what  do  you  think  ?  "  said  I,  seeing  that  Bell 
rather  hesitated. 

"  I  think,"  said  Tita,  with  a  smile,  "  that  you  are  very 
ungenerous,  Bell,  in  remembering  so  much  of  what  you  saw 
the  other  night  from  the  gallery  of  the  Freemasons'  Tavern. 
Is  it  fair  to  recall,  in  open  daylight,  in  the  cool  morning, 
the  imbecile  good-nature  and  exuberant  loyalty  of  a  lot  of 
gentlemen  who  have  just  dined  ?  I  wonder  how  many  of 
the  husbands  there  told  their  wives  what  sums  they  signed 
away  under  the  influence  of  the  wine  ?  " 

"I  dare  say,"  says  one  of  the  party,  "that  the  wives 
would  be  sorry  to  see  so  much  money  go  in  charity  which 
might  otherwise  have  been  squandered  in  millinery  and 
extravagances." 

"Don't  be  ill-tempered,  my  dear,"  says  Queen  Tita, 
graciously.  "  Women  are  quite  as  charitable  as  men  ;  and 
they  don't  need  a  guinea  dinner  to  make  them  think  of  other 
people.  That  is  a  sort  of  charity  that  begins  at  home.  Pray 
how  much  did  you  put  down  ?  " 

"Nothing."' 

"  I  thought  so.  Go  to  a  charity  dinner,  enjoy  yourself, 
and  come  away  without  giving  a  farthing.  You  would  not 
find  women  doing  that." 

"  Only  because  they  have  not  the  courage." 

"  They  have  plenty  of  courage  in  other  directions — in 
getting  rnarried,  for  example,  when  they  know  what  men  are." 


OF  A  PHAETON.  105 

"  Knowing  that,  is  it  not  a  pity  they  choose  to  make 
martyrs  of  themselves  ?  Indeed,  their  anxiety  to  become 
martyrs  is  astonishing.  But  what  if  I  say  that  in  the  next 
published  list  of  subscriptions  you  will  find  my  name  down 
for  about  as  much  as  your  last  millinery  bill  came  to  ?  " 

"  I  think  that  a  great  deal  more  likely  ;  for  I  know  the 
state  of  philanthropy  into  which  men  get  at  a  public 
dinner — fathers  of  families,  who  ought  to  remember  their 
own  responsibilities,  and  who  are  impatient  enough  if  any 
extra  bit  of  comfort  or  kindness  is  wanted  for  their  own 
kith  and  kin." 

"  Some  such  trifling  matter  as  a  fur  cloak,  for  instance, 
that  is  bought  out  of  a  Brighton  shop-window  for  sixty-five 
guineas,  and  is  only  worn  twice  or  thrice,  because  some 
other  woman  has  the  neighbour  of  it." 

"  That  is  not  true.      You  know  the  weather  changed." 

"  The  weather  !  What  weather  ?  "Were  you  at  Brighton 
at  the  time  ?  " 

Titania  did  not  reply  for  a  considerable  space.  Perhaps 
she  was  thinking  of  some  crushing  epigram  ;  but  at  all 
events  Bell  endeavoured  to  draw  her  away  from  the  subject 
by  pointing  out  another  river,  and  asking  whether  this  or 
the  Glym  at  Woodstock  was  the  stream  associated  with  the 
"  Oxfordshire  Tragedy  "  she  had  just  been  singing.  We 
discovered,  however,  that  this  brook  was  also  the  Glym, 
which  here  winds  round  and  through  the  marshy  country 
that  Thomas  Wharton  described.*  Bell  came  to  the 
conclusion  that  the  banks  by  the  river  at  this  part  were 
not  sufficiently  picturesque  for  the  scene  of  the  song,  where 
the  love-lorn  heroine  sits  and  weeps  by  a  glassy  stream,  and 
complains  that  her  lover  is  now  wooing  another  maid. 

*  "Within  some  whispering  osier  isle, 

Where  Glym's  low  banks  neglected  smile : 
And  each  trim  meadow  still  retains 
The  wintry  torrent's  oozy  stains; 
Beneath  a  willow,  long  forsook, 
The  fisher  seeks  his  custom'd  nook; 
And  bursting  through  the  crackling  sedge, 
That  crowns  the  current's  caverned  edge, 
He  startles  from  the  bordering  wood 
The  bashful  wild-duck's  early  brood." 

Ode  to  tlie  First  of  April. 


106  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

Meanwhile,  my  Lady  had  given  expression  to  the  rebellious 
thoughts  passing  through  her  mind,  by  admonishing  Castor 
and  Pollux  slightly  ;  and  these  accordingly  were  going 
forward  at  a  rattling  pace.  We  rushed  through  Enstone. 
We  dashed  along  the  level  highway  that  lies  on  the  high 
ground  between  the  Charlford  Farms  and  Heythrop  Park. 
We  sent  the  dust  flying  behind  us  in  clouds  as  we  scudded 
down  to  Chipping  Norton  ;  and  there,  with  a  fine  sweep, 
we  cantered  up  the  incline  of  the  open  square,  clattered 
over  the  stones  in  front  of  the  White  Hart  Inn,  and  pulled 
up  with  a  noise  that  considerably  astonished  the  quiet 
village. 

This  large  open  space  gives  to  Chipping  Norton  a  light 
and  agreeable  appearance  ;  and  on  entering  the  big  tall  inn 
that  looks  down  over  the  square,  we  found  everything  very 
cleanly,  bright,  and  comfortable.  The  very  maid-servant 
who  served  us  with  lunch  was  a  model  of  maid-servants  ;  and 
was  a  very  handsome  young  woman  besides,  with  shining 
light-blue  eyes  and  yellow  hair.  The  Lieutenant  at  once 
entered  into  a  polite  conversation  with  her  ;  and  she  informed 
him,  in  answer  to  his  respectful  inquiries,  that  she  had  just 
come  from  Folkestone. 

"  From  Folkestone  !  That  is  a  seaport — a  busy  place — a 
large  town,  is  it  not  ? " 

"  Yes,  there  was  some  business  doing  there,"  said  the 
maid,  with  an  inflection  of  voice  which  rather  cast  discredit 
on  Chipping  Norton. 

"  Don't  you  find  this  place  dull  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  Well,  I  can't  say  the  people  seem  to  worry  themselves 
much,"  she  replied,  with  a  slight  curl  of  the  lip. 

"  That  is  very  good  for  the  health,"  said  the  Count 
gravely.  "  Now  I  do  think  you  have  a  very  nice  and  even 
temper,  that  does  not  irritate  you " 

But  here  my  Lady  and  her  companion  came  into  the  room, 
and  the  conversation  ceased  ;  for  the  Lieutenant  had  at  once 
to  spring  up  and  take  charge  of  the  books,  maps,  and  scarves 
that  Bell  had  brought  in  with  her.  And  then,  when  we 
sat  down  to  lunch,  he  was  entirely  engrossed  in  attending 
to  her  wants,  insomuch  that  he  was  barely  civil  to  the  more 
elderly  lady  who  had  from  the  first  been  his  champion.  As 
for  Bell,  what  had  become  of  her  dislike  to  officers,  her 


OF  A  PHAETON.  107 

antipathy  to  the  German  race,  her  horror  of  Uhlans  ?  That 
very  morning  I  had  heard  on  good  authority  that  Bell  had 
been  asking  in  confidence  whether  England  did  not  owe  a 
great  debt  to  Germany  for  the  gift  of  Protestantism  which 
that  country  had  sent  us.  "  And  were  not  the  Prussians 
mostly  Protestant  ?  "  asked  Bell.  What  answer  was  returned 
I  do  not  know  ;  for  Queen  Titania  is  strong  on  the  point 
that  the  word  "  Protestant  "  is  not  scriptural. 

"  But  I  have  quite  forgotten  to  tell  you,"  remarked  the 
Lieutenant,  "  that  this  morning,  when  I  was  walking  about 
in  Oxford,  I  came  into  the  theatre.  I  saw  some  bills  up  ; 
I  went  along  a  strange  passage  ;  I  found  an  iron  gate,  and 
much  lime  and  stone,  and  things  like  that.  A  man  came — 
I  asked  him  if  I  could  see  the  theatre,  and  he  took  me  into 
the  place,  which  they  are  repairing  now.  Oh,  it  is  a  very 
dingy  place — small,  tawdry,  with  ridiculous  scenes,  and  the 
decorations  of  the  galleries  very  amusing  and  dirty.  "Why, 
in  an  old  city,  with  plenty  of  rich  and  intelligent  people,  you 
have  such  a  pitiful  little  theatre  ? — it  is  only  fit  for  a  country 
green  and  wandering  actors.  In  a  great  university  town, 
you  should  have  the  theatre  supported  by  the  colleges  and 
the  bequests,  and  hire  good  actors,  and  play  all  the  best 
dramas  of  your  great  writers.  That  would  be  a  good 
education — that  would  be  a  good  compliment  to  pay  to  your 
great  dramatists.  But  here,  in  a  city  where  you  have  much 
learning,  much  money,  much  of  your  young  men  of  good 
families  being  educated,  you  have  only  a  dingy,  small  show, 
and  I  suppose  it  is  farces  they  play,  and  wretched  dramas, 
for  the  townspeople  and  the  farmers.  That  is  not  much 
respect  shown  to  your  best  authors  by  your  learned 
institutions." 

"No  wonder  students  find  the  milliners'  shops  more 
attractive,"  said  Queen  Tita,  with  a  smile. 

"  But  I  think  there  is  always  much  interest  in  an  empty 
theatre,"  continued  the  Lieutenant.  "I  did  go  all  over 
that  poor  little  building,  and  saw  how  it  imitated  the 
deceptions  of  fine  theatres  in  a  coarse  manner.  I  saw  the 
rude  scenes,  the  bad  traps,  the  curious  arrangements,  which 
I  do  not  think  can  differ  much  from  the  theatre  which 
Shakespeare  himself  described,  where  a  man  was  made  to 
represent  a  city,  if  I  am  right," 


loS  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

"  You  are  familiar  with  the  arrangements  of  a  theatre,  I 
suppose  ?  "  I  asked  of  the  Lieutenant. 

"  Pray  tell  me  if  you  saw  anything  else  in  Oxford  this 
morning,"  said  Queen  Tita,  hastily. 

"  I  suppose  you  could  produce  a  pantomime  yourself  ?  "  I 
observed  to  the  young  man. 

"  Did  you  visit  any  more  of  the  colleges  ?  "  said  Tita, 
at  the  same  moment. 

"  Or  get  up  a  ballet  ?  " 

"  Or  go  down  to  the  Isis  again  ?  " 

Von  Rosen  was  rather  bewildered  ;  but  at  last  he 
stammered  out — 

"  No,  Madame,  I  did  not  go  down  to  the  river  this  morn- 
ing. I  walked  from  the  theatre  to  the  hotel ;  for  I  remained 
much  too  long  in  the  theatre.  Yes,  I  know  something 
about  the  interior  of  theatres.  I  have  been  great  friends 
with  the  managers  and  actors,  and  took  great  interest  in  it. 
I  used  to  be  much  behind  the  stage — every  night  at  some 
times  ;  and  that  is  very  curious  to  a  young  man  who  likes 
to  know  more  than  other  people,  and  thinks  himself  wise  not 
to  believe  in  delusions.  I  think  it  is  Goethe  who  has  made 
many  of  our  young  men  like  to  know  stage-managers,  and 
help  to  arrange  pieces.  But  I  find  that  they  always  end  by 
being  very  much  in  love  with  one  of  the  young  ladies,  and 
then  they  get  not  to  like  the  theatres,  for  they  do  not  wish 
everybody  to  admire  her  and  be  allowed  to  look  at  her. 
This  is  very  good  for  the  theatre,  however ;  for  they  take 
many  boxes,  and  ask  their  friends  to  accompany  them,  and 
that  pays  better  than  to  let  out  the  seats  by  the  year  to 
families.  Some  of  the  young  men  make  light  of  this  ; 
others  are  more  melancholy  ;  but  afterwards  they  have  much 
interest  in  all  theatres  merely  for  the  sake  of  the  old 
associations." 

"Oh,  Bell,"  exclaimed  Tita,  turning  anxiously  to  our 
companion,  "  did  you  see  that  your  guitar  was  properly  put 
away,  or  has  it  been  left  lying  open  in  the  phaeton  ?  " 

"  I  did  put  it  away,  Madame,"  said  the  Lieutenant. 

"Oh,  thank  you,"  said  Tita.  "I  am  sure  if  some  of 
those  ostlers  were  to  have  their  curiosity  aroused,  we  should 
have  no  more  music  all  the  journey." 

And  thus,  having  got  the  Lieutenant  away  from  rambling 


OF  A  PHAETON.  109 

reminiscences  of  theatres,  the  little  woman  took  very  good 
care  he  should  not  return  to  them  ;  and  so  we  finished 
luncheon  without  any  catastrophe  having  happened.  Bell 
had  been  sitting  very  quietly  during  these  revelations, 
scarcely  lifting  her  eyes  from  the  table,  and  maintaining  an 
appearance  of  studied  indifference.  Why  should  she  care 
about  the  mention  of  any  actress,  or  any  dozen  of  actresses  ? 
My  Lady's  anxiety  was  obviously  unnecessary. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

A  MOONLIGHT  NIGHT. 

"  Till  the  live-long  daylight  fail : 
Then  to  the  spicy  nut-brown  ale, 
With  stories  told  of  many  a  feat, 
How  faery  Mab  the  junkets  eat." 

CHIPPING  NORTON  is  supplied  with  all  the  comforts  of 
life.  Before  leaving  for  the  more  inhospitable  regions  in 
which  we  are  to  pass  the  night,  we  take  a  leisurely  walk 
through  the  curious  little  town,  that  is  loosely  scattered  over 
the  side  of  a  steep  slope.  Here  civilization  has  crowded  all 
its  results  together  ;  and  Queen  Tita  is  asked  whether  she 
could  not  forsake  the  busy  haunts  of  men,  and  exchange 
that  hovering  between  Leatherhead  and  London,  which 
constitutes  her  existence,  for  a  plain  life  in  this  small 
country  place. 

"  Chemists'  shops  abound.  There  is  a  subscription 
reading-room.  There  are  co-operative  stores.  A  theatre 
invites  you  to  amusement.  You  may  have  Lloyd's  News, 
various  sorts  of  sewing  machines,  and  the  finest  sherry  from 
the  wood " 

"  Along  with  a  Wesleyan  chapel,"  she  says,  with  a 
supercilious  glance  at  the  respectable,  if  somewhat  dull-look- 
ing little  building  that  fronts  the  main  street. 

There  is  no  reply  possible  to  this  ungracious  sneer ;  for 
who  can  reason,  as  one  of  us  hints  to  her,  with  a  woman 
who  would  spend  a  fortune,  if  only  she  had  it,  in  incense, 
and  who  would  rejoice  to  run  riot  in  tall  candles  ? 

Bell  takes  us  away  from  Chipping  Norton,  the  Lieu- 
tenant sitting  beside  her  to  moderate  the  vehemence  of  her 


no  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

pace  in  the  event  of  her  getting  into  a  difficulty.  First  the 
road  dips  down  by  a  precipitous  street ;  then  it  crosses  a 
hollow,  in  which  there  are  some  buildings  of  a  manufactory, 
a  tiny  river,  and  a  strip  of  common  or  meadow  ;  and  then 
it  ascends  to  the  high  country  beyond  by  a  steep  hill.  On 
the  summit  of  this  hill  we  give  the  horses  a  rest  for  a  few 
seconds,  and  turn  to  look  at  the  small  town  that  lies  under- 
neath us  in  the  valley.  There  is  a  faint  haze  of  blue  smoke 
rising  from  the  slates  and  tiles.  The  deadened  tolling  of 
a  bell  marks  the  conclusion  of  another  day's  labour ;  for 
already  the  afternoon  is  wearing  on  apace  ;  and  so  we  turn 
westward  again,  and  set  out  upon  the  lofty  highway  that  winds 
onward  towards  the  setting  sun.  Small  hamlets  fringe  the 
road  at  considerable  intervals,  while  elsewhere  we  drive 
between  stretches  of  heath  and  long  fields.  And  still  our 
route  ascends,  until  we  reach  the  verge  of  a  great  slope  ; 
and,  behold  !  there  lies  before  us  a  vast  landscape,  half  in 
gloom,  half  in  the  dusky  yellow  light  of  the  evening. 
And  over  there,  partly  shutting  out  the  dark  lines  of 
hills  in  the  west,  a  thin  veil  of  rain  stretches  from  the 
sky  to  the  earth,  and  through  it  the  sun  is  shining  as 
through  ground  glass.  But  so  far  away  is  this  pale  sheet  of 
yellow  mist,'  that  we  seem  to  be  above  it,  and  over  the  flat 
and  dark  landscape  on  which  it  descends  ;  and,  indeed, 
where  this  veil  ceases,  the  sunlight  sends  forth  long  shafts  of 
radiance  that  light  up  level  tracts  of  the  distant  and  wooded 
country.  What  fate  is  to  befall  us  when  we  get  down  into 
the  plain,  and  go  forward  in  search  of  the  unknown  hostelry 
at  which  we  are  to  pass  the  night  ? 

"  I  hope  the  rain  will  not  spread,"  says  Bell,  who  had 
been  telling  us  of  all  the  wonders  we  should  find  at  Bourton- 
on-the-Hill ;  "  but  even  if  it  does  rain  to-night,  we  shall  be 
as  well  off  on  a  hill  as  in  a  swamp." 

"  But  at  Moreton-in-the-Marsh,"  says  Tita, "  there  is  sure 
to  be  a  comfortable  inn,  for  it  is  a  big  place  ;  whereas 
Bourton-on-the-Hill  appears  to  be  only  a  small  village,  and 
we  may  find  there  only  a  public-house." 

"  But  suppose  it  should  clear  ?  "  says  Bell.  "  The  moon 
will  be  larger  to-night,  and  then  we  can  look  down  on  all 
this  level  country  from  the  top  of  the  hill.  "We  have  not 
had  a  night-walk  for  a  long  time ;  and  it  will  be  so 


Of  A  PIfAETON.  in 

much  more  pleasant  than  being  down  in  the  mists  of  a 
marsh." 

"  And  you  are  prepared  to  sleep  on  a  couple  of  chairs  in 
the  smoking-room  of  a  public-house  ?  "  I  asked  of  Miss  Bell. 

"  I  dare  say  we  shall  get  accommodation  of  some  kind," 
she  replied,  meekly. 

"  Oh,  I  am  quite  sure  Mademoiselle  is  right ;  there  is  so 
much  more  adventure  in  going  to  this  small  place  on  the 
top  of  a  hill,"  cried  the  Lieutenant. 

Of  course  Mademoiselle  was  right.  Mademoiselle  was 
always  right  now.  And  when  that  was  understood,  Queen 
Titania  never  even  attempted  to  offer  an  objection  ;  so  that 
in  all  affairs  pertaining  to  our  trip  the  rude  force  of  numbers 
triumphed  over  the  protests  of  an  oppressed  and  long- 
suffering  minority. 

But  only  change  the  relative  positions,  and  then  what  a 
difference  there  was  !  When  the  Lieutenant  hinted  in  the 
remotest  way  that  Bell  might  do  so  and  so  with  the  horses, 
she  was  all  attention.  For  the  first  time  in  her  career  she 
allowed  the  interests  of  justice  to  moderate  her  partiality  for 
Pollux.  That  animal,  otherwise  the  best  of  horses,  was  a 
trifle  older  than  his  companion,  and  had  profited  by  his 
years  so  far  as  to  learn  a  little  cunning.  He  had  got  into  a 
trick  accordingly  of  allowing  Castor — the  latter  being 
younger  and  a  good  deal  "freer" — to  take  more  than  his 
share  of  the  work.  Pollux  had  acquired  the  art  of  looking 
as  if  he  were  perpetually  straining  at  the  collar,  while  all  the 
time  he  was  letting  his  neighbour  exercise  to  the  full  that 
willingness  which  was  his  chief  merit.  Now  Bell  had  never 
interfered  to  alter  this  unequal  division  of  labour.  Queen 
Tita  knew  well,  how  to  make  the  older  horse  do  his  fair 
share  ;  but  Bell  encouraged  him  in  his  idleness,  and 
permitted  his  companion  to  work  out  of  all  reason.  Now, 
however,  when  the  Lieutenant  pointed  out  the  different 
action  of  the  horses,  and  said  she  should  moderate  the 
efforts  of  the  one,  while  waking  up  the  other  to  a  sense  of 
his  duties,  she  was  quite  obedient.  When  the  whip  was 
used  at  all — which  was  seldom  enough,  for  both  horses  were 
sufficiently  free — it  was  Pollux  that  felt  the  silk.  The 
Lieutenant  fancied  he  was  giving  Bell  lessons  in  driving, 
whereas  he  was  only  teaching  her  submissiveness. 


1 1 2  THE  STRANGE  AD  VENTURES 

That  golden  sheet  of  rain  had  disappeared  in  the  west, 
and  the  yellow  light  had  sunk  further  and  further  down 
behind  far  bands  of  dark  cloud.  A  grey  dusk  was  falling 
over  the  green  landscape,  and  the  birds  were  growing  mute 
in  the  woods  and  the  hedges.  In  the  pervading  silence  we 
heard  only  the  patter  of  the  horses'  feet  and  the  light  rolling 
of  the  phaeton,  as  we  sped  onward  down  the  long  slopes  and 
along  the  plain.  We  passed  Four-shire-Stone,  the  adjacent 
shires  being  Worcester,  Warwick,  Gloucester,  and  Oxford  ; 
and  then,  getting  on  by  a  piece  of  common,  we  rattled  into 
a  long  and  straggling  village,  with  one  or  two  large  and 
open  thoroughfares. 

Moreton-in-the-Marsh  was  asleep  ;  and  we  left  it  asleep. 
There  were  still  a  few  men  lounging  about  the  corner  public- 
house  ;  but  the  women  and  children  had  all  retired  into  their 
cottages  from  the  chill  night  air.  In  some  of  the  windows 
the  light  of  a  candle  was  visible.  The  dark  elms  behind  the 
houses  were  growing  darker. 

Between  Moreton  and  Bourton  you  plunge  still  deeper 
into  this  great  and  damp  valley  ;  and  the  way  lies  through  a 
rich  vegetation  which  seems  to  have  thriven  well  in  this  low 
situation.  The  hedges  along  the  roadside  are  luxuriant ; 
the  elms  behind  them  constitute  a  magnificent  avenue 
extending  for  nearly  a  couple  of  miles  ;  all  around  are  dense 
woods.  As  we  drove  rapidly  through  this  country,  it  almost 
seemed  as  though  we  could  see  the  white  mists  around  us, 
although  the  presence  of  the  vapour  was  only  known  to  us 
by  the  chilling  touch  of  the  air.  On  this  July  night  we 
grew  cold.  Tita  hoped  there  would  be  a  fire  at  the  hostelry 
on  the  top  of  the  mountain  ;  and  she  besought  Bell  to  muffle 
up  her  throat,  so  that  we  should  not  be  deprived  of  our 
ballads  by  the  way. 

At  last  we  find  the  hill  before  us. 

"  It  is  not  very  like  the  Niessen,"  says  Queen  Tita. 

"  But  I  have  no  doubt  there  is  a  very  good  inn  at  the 
top,"  remarks  the  Lieutenant ;  "for  after  this  hill  the  people 
would  naturally  stop  to  rest  their  horses." 

"  And  we  shall  get  up  to  see  the  sun  rise,  as  we  did  on  the 
Niessen  ?  "  asks  Bell,  with  a  fine  innocence  ;  for  she  knows 
the  opinions  of  some  of  us  on  the  subject  of  early  rising. 
"  Do  you  remember  the  fat  little  woman  who  had  walked  up 


OF  A  PHAETON.  113 

all  by  herself  in  the  morning,  and  appealed  to  us  all  to  tell 
her  the  names  of  the  mountains,  that  she  might  write  them 
down  ?  " 

"  And  how  oddly  she  turned  up  again  at  nearly  every 
railway  station  we  stopped  at,  with  all  her  luggage  around 
her  !  "  says  Tita. 

"I  believe,"  says  Bell,  "she  is  still  sailing  all  through 
Europe  on  a  shoal  of  bandboxes  and  portmanteaus.  I  wish 
I  could  draw  the  fat  little  woman  balancing  herself  in  that 
circle  of  luggage,  you  know,  and  floating  about  comfortably 
and  placidly  like  a  bottle  bobbing  about  in  the  sea.  She 
may  have  drifted  up  to  St.  Petersburg  by  this  time." 

"  I  think  we  have,"  says  the  Lieutenant,  who  is  leading 
the  horses  up  the  steep  hill,  and  who  rubs  his  chilled  hands 
from  time  to  time. 

We  reach  the  centre  of  the  straggling  line  of  houses  which 
must  be  Bourton,  and,  behold !  there  is  no  inn.  In  the 
dusk  we  can  descry  the  tower  of  a  small  church  ;  and  here 
the  cottages  thicken  into  the  position  which  ought  to  be 
dominated  by  an  inn  ;  but  there  is  no  sign  of  any  such  thing. 
Have  we  climbed  this  precipitous  steep,  and  have  Castor  and 
Pollux  laboriously  dragged  our  phaeton  and  luggage  up,  all 
for  nothing  ?  The  Count  asks  a  startled  villager,  who 
points  to  a  wayside  house  standing  at  the  higher  extremity 
of  the  row.  Where  is  the  familiar  signboard,  or  the  glowing 
bar,  or  the  entrance  to  the  stables  ?  Yon  Rosen  surrenders 
his  charge  of  the  horses,  and  walks  into  the  plain-looking 
house.  It  is  an  inn.  We  begin  to  perceive  in  the  dark 
that  a  small  board  over  the  doorway  bears  the  name  of 
"  SETH  DYDE."  We  find,  however,  instead  of  a  landlord,  a 
landlady — a  willing,  anxious,  energetic  woman,  who  forth- 
with sets  to  work  to  take  our  party  into  this  odd  little  place. 
For  dinner  or  supper,  just  as  we  choose  to  call  it,  she  will 
give  us  ham  and  eggs,  with  either  tea  or  beer.  She  will  get 
two  bedrooms  for  us  ;  and  perhaps  the  single  gentleman  will 
accept  a  shake-down  in  the  parlour.  In  that  room  a  fire  is 
lit  in  a  trice  ;  a  lamp  is  brought  in  ;  and  presently  the 
cheerful  blaze  in  the  huge  fire-place  illuminates  the  curious 
old-fashioned  chamber,  with  its  carpets,  and  red  table-cloth, 
and  gloomy  furniture.  A  large  tray  appears — an  ornamental 
teapot  is  produced.  Sounds  are  heard  of  attendants  whipping 


114  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

through  the  place — so  anxious  and  so  dexterous  is  this  good 
woman.  And  Queen  Tita,  who  is  merciless  in  one  respect, 
examines  the  cups,  saucers,  forks,  and  knives,  and  deigns  to 
express  her  sense  of  the  creditable  cleanliness  and  order  of 
the  solitary  inn. 

Meanwhile,  the  horses. 

"  Oh,"  says  the  Lieutenant,  coming  in  out  of  the  dark, 
"  I  have  found  a  famous  fellow — the  first  man  I  have  seen 
in  England  who  does  his  work  well  with  grooming  a  horse. 
He  is  an  excellent  fellow — I  have  seen  nothing  like  it.  The 
horses  are  well  off  this  night,  I  can  assure  you  ;  you  will  see 
how  good  they  look  to-morrow  morning." 

"  It  is  strange  so  good  an  ostler  should  be  found  here," 
remarks  Queen  Tita. 

"  But  he  is  not  an  ostler,"  replies  the  Lieutenant,  rubbing 
his  hands  at  the  fire  ;  "  he  is  a  groom  to  some  gentleman 
near.  The  ostler  is  away.  He  does  his  work  as  a  favour  ; 
and  he  does  it  so  that  I  think  the  gentleman  must  keep  some 
racing  horses." 

"  How  do  you  manage  to  find  out  all  these  things  about 
the  people  you  meet  ?  "  asks  my  Lady,  with  a  gracious  smile. 

"  Find  out ! "  replies  the  tall  young  man,  with  his  blue 
eyes  staring.  "  I  do  not  think  I  find  out  any  more  than 
others.  It  is  people  talk  to  you.  And  it  is  better  to  know 
a  little  of  a  man  you  give  your  horses  to — and  there  is  some 
time  to  talk  when  you  are  seeing  after  the  horses — and  so — 
that  is  perhaps  why  they  tell  me." 

"  But  you  have  not  to  see  about  your  horses  when  you  are 
in  a  bookseller's  shop  at  nine  in  the  morning,  and  the  young 
lady  there  tells  you  about  the  milliners'  shops  and  the 
students,"  she  says. 

"  Oh,  she  was  a  very  nice  girl,"  observes  the  Lieutenant, 
as  if  that  were  sufficient  explanation. 

"  But  you  talk  to  everyone,  whether  they  are  young  ladies, 
or  innkeepers,  or  grooms  :  is  it  to  perfect  your  pronunciation 
of  English  ?  " 

"  Yes,  that  is  it,"  said  the  young  man,  probably  glad  to 
arrive  at  any  solution  of  the  problem. 

"  Then  you  ought  not  to  speak  to  ostlers,"  she  continues. 

"  But  there  is  no  ostler  who  talks  so  very  bad  as  I  do — I 
know  it  is  very,  very  bad " 


OF  A  PHAETON.  115 

"  I  am  sure  you  are  mistaken,"  interposes  Bell,  quite 
warmly,  but  looking  down  ;  "  I  think  you  speak  very  good 
English — and  it  is  a  most  difficult  language  to  pronounce 
— and  I  am  sure  there  are  few  Germans  who  can  speak  it  as 
freely  as  you  can." 

"  All  that  is  a  very  good  compliment,  Mademoiselle,"  he 
says,  with  a  laugh  that  causes  Bell  to  look  rather  embarrassed. 
"  I  am  very  glad  if  I  could  think  that,  but  it  is  impossible. 
And  as  for  freedom  of  speaking — oh,  yes,  you  can  speak 
freely,  comfortably,  if  you  are  going  about  the  country,  and 
meeting  strangers,  and  talking  to  anyone,  and  not  caring 
whether  you  mistake  or  not ;  but  it  is  different  when  you  are 
in  a  room  with  very  polite  English  ladies  who  are  strangers 
to  you — and  you  are  introduced — and  you  do  not  know  how 
to  say  those  little  sentences  that  are  proper  to  the  time. 
That  is  very  difficult — very  annoying.  But  it  is  very 
surprising  the  number  of  your  English  ladies  who  have 
learned  G-erman  at  school ;  while  the  French  ladies,  they 
know  nothing  of  that,  or  of  anything  that  is  outside  Paris. 
I  do  think  them  the  most  useless  of  women — very  nice  to 
look  at,  and  very  charming  in  their  ways,  perhaps — but  not 
sensible,  honest,  frank  like  the  English  women,  and  not 
familiar  with  the  seriousness  of  the  world,  and  not  ready  to 
see  the  troubles  of  other  people.  But  your  Englishwoman 
who  is  very  frank  to  be  amused,  and  can  enjoy  herself  when 
there  is  a  time  for  that — who  is  generous  in  time  of  trouble, 
and  is  not  afraid,  and  can  be  firm  and  active  and  yet  very 
gentle,  and  who  does  not  think  always  of  herself,  but  is  ready 
to  help  other  people,  and  can  look  after  a  house,  and  manage 
affairs — that  is  a  better  kind  of  woman,  I  think — more  to  be 
trusted — more  of  a  companion — oh,  there  is  no  comparison  ! " 

All  this  time  the  Lieutenant  was  busy  stirring  up  the  fire, 
and  placing  huge  lumps  of  coal  on  the  top ;  and  he  had 
obviously  forgotten  that  he  was  saying  these  things  to  two 
Englishwomen.  Tita  seemed  rather  amused,  and  kept 
looking  at  Bell ;  Bell  said  nothing,  but  pretended  to  be 
arranging  the  things  on  the  table.  When  the  Lieutenant 
came  back  from  the  fire,  he  had  apparently  forgotten  his 
complimentary  speech ;  and  was  regarding  with  some 
curiosity  the  mighty  dish  of  ham  and  eggs  that  had  come  in 
for  our  supper. 

I  2 


n6  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

That  was  a  very  comfortable  and  enjoyable  repast.  When 
the  chill  of  driving  through  the  fogs  of  the  plain  had  worn 
off,  we  found  that  it  was  not  so  very  cold  up  here  on  the  hill. 
A  very  liberal  and  honest  appetite  seemed  to  prevail ;  and 
there  was  a  tolerable  attack  made  on  the  ample  display  of 
ham  and  eggs.  As  for  the  beer  that  our  Lieutenant  drank, 
it  is  not  fair  to  tell  stories.  He  said  it  was  good  beer,  to 
begin  with.  Then  he  thought  it  was  excellent  beer.  At 
length  he  said  he  had  not  tasted  better  since  he  left 
London. 

Women  get  accustomed  to  many  things  during  the  course 
of  a  rambling  journey  like  this.  You  should  have  seen  how 
naturally  Queen  Tita  brought  forth  the  be'zique-cards 
directly  after  supper,  and  how  unthinkingly  Bell  fetched 
some  matches  from  the  mantelpiece  and  placed  them  on  the 
table.  My  Lady  had  wholly  forgotten  her  ancient  horror 
of  cigar  smoke — in  any  case,  as  she  pointed  out,  it  was  other 
people's  houses  we  were  poisoning  with  the  odour.  As  for 
Bell,  she  openly  declared  that  she  enjoyed  the  scent  of  cigars  ; 
and  that  in  the  open  air,  on  a  summer  evening,  it  was  as 
pleasant  to  her  as  the  perfume  of  the  wild  roses  or  the 
campions. 

However,  there  was  no  bezique.  We  fell  to  talking.  It 
became  a  question  as  to  which  could  find  the  freshest  phrases 
and  the  strongest  adjectives  to  describe  his  or  her  belief  that 
this  was  the  only  enjoyable  fashion  of  travelling.  The 
abuse  that  was  poured  upon  trains,  stations,  railway  porters, 
and  the  hurry  of  cabs  in  the  morning,  was  excessive.  Time- 
tables of  all  sorts  were  spoken  of  with  an  animosity  which 
was  wonderful  to  observe  when  it  came  along  with  the  soft 
and  pleasant  undertones  of  our  Bonny  Bell's  voice.  Tita 
said  she  should  never  go  abroad  any  more.  The  Lieutenant 
vowed  that  England  was  the  most  delightful  country  in  the 
world  to  drive  through.  The  present  writer  remarked  that 
the  Count  had  much  to  see  yet ;  whereupon  the  foolish 
young  man  declared  he  could  seek  for  no  pleasanter  days 
than  those  he  had  just  spent,  and  wished,  with  some  unneces- 
sary emphasis,  that  they  might  go  on  for  ever.  At  this 
moment  Bell  rose  and  went  to  the  window. 

Then  we  heard  an  exclamation.  Looking  round,  we  found 
the  shutters  open,  and  lo  !  through  the  window  we  could  see 


OF  A  PHAETON,  117 

the  white  glare  of  moonlight  falling  into  the  empty  thorough- 
fare, and  striking  on  the  wall  on  the  other  side  of  the  way. 

"  It  cannot  be  very  cold  outside,"  Bell  remarks. 

"  Bell !  "  cries  Queen  Tita,  "  you  don't  mean  to  go  out  at 
this  time  of  night  !  " 

"  Why  not,  Madame  ?  "  says  the  Lieutenant.  "  Was  it 
not  agreed  before  we  came  up  the  hill  ?  And  when  could 
you  get  a  more  beautiful  night  ?  I  am  sure  it  will  be  more 
beautiful  than  the  sunrise  from  the  top  of  the  Niessen." 

"  Oh,  if  you  think  so,"  says  my  Lady,  with  a  gentle 
courtesy,  "  by  all  means  let  us  go  out  for  a  little  walk." 

That  is  the  way  affairs  began  to  be  ordered  about  to  suit 
the  fancies  of  those  young  nincompoops.  What  little  vestige 
of  authority  remained  with  the  eldest  of  the  group  was 
exerted  to  secure  a  provision  of  shawls  and  rugs.  Bell  was 
not  loth.  She  had  a  very  pretty  grey  shawl.  She  had  also 
a  smart  little  grey  hat,  which  suited  it ;  and  as  the  hat  was 
trimmed  with  blue,  the  grey  shawl  could  not  have  had  a 
prettier  decoration  than  the  blue  ribbon  of  the  guitar. 
Who  proposed  it  I  cannot  say  ;  but  Bell  had  her  guitar 
with  her  when  we  went  out  into  the  cold  wonder  of  the 
moonlight. 

Bourton-on-the-Hill  was  now  a  mass  of  glittering  silver 
and  sharp,  black  shadows.  Below  us  we  could  see  the  dark 
tower  of  the  church,  gleaming  grey  on  the  one  side  ;  then 
a  cluster  of  houses,  with  a  dull  radiance  shining  from 
their  tiles  and  slates  ;  then  the  steep  road  down  the  hill, 
and  on  one  side  of  it  a  big  wall,  with  its  flints  sparkling. 
But  when  we  got  quite  to  the  summit,  and  clambered  on  to 
a  small  piece  of  common  where  were  some  felled  trees,  what 
words  can  describe  the  extraordinary  view  that  lay  around 
us  ?  The  village  and  its  small  church  seemed  to  be  now 
half-way  down  the  slope ;  whereas  the  great  plain  of  the 
landscape  appeared  to  have  risen  high  up  on  the  eastern 
horizon,  where  the  almost  invisible  stars  met  the  sombre 
woods  of  Oxfordshire.  Over  this  imposing  breadth  of  forest 
and  valley  and  meadow — with  its  dark  lines  of  trees,  its 
glimmerings  of  farmhouses,  and  winding  streams — the 
flood  of  moonlight  lay  so  softly  that  the  world  itself 
seemed  to  have  grown  clear  from  underneath.  There 
were  none  of  the  wild  glares  of  white  surfaces  and  the 


iiS  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

ebony  blackness  of  shadows  which  threw  everything  around 
us  into  sharp  outline  ;  but  a  far-reaching  and  mellow 
glamour  that  showed  us  the  mists  lying  along  the  river- 
tracks,  and  only  revealed  to  us  the  blended  outlines  and 
configurations  of  the  land.  If  there  had  been  a  ruddy  light 
in  Moreton-in-the-Marsh,  we  should  have  seen  it ;  but  the 
distant  village  seemed  dead ;  and  it,  as  well  as  all  the 
great  tract  of  wooded  country  around  it,  was  touched 
and  softened  by  this  calm,  mysterious  splendour  that  lay 
somehow  between  the  dark  blue  vault  overhead  and  the 
vast  plain  beneath.  It  was  but  a  young  moon,  but  the 
exceeding  rarity  of  the  air  lent  strength  to  its  radiance. 

"Does  not  moonlight  give  you  the  impression  that  you 
can  hear  far  ?  "  said  Bell  in  a  rather  low  voice,  as  if  the 
silence  and  the  stars  had  overawed  her.  "  It  is  like  frost. 
You  fancy  you  could  hear  bells  ringing  a  hundred  miles 
across  the  clear  air." 

"  Mademoiselle,  you  will  let  us  hear  your  singing  in  this 
stillness  ?  "  said  the  Lieutenant. 

"  No,  I  cannot  sing  now,"  she  said  ;  and  the  very  gentle- 
ness of  her  voice  forbade  him  to  ask  again. 

"We  passed  along  the  road.  The  night  air  was  sweet  with 
the  odour  of  flowers.  Out  in  the  west,  where  the  moonlight 
was  less  strong,  the  stars  were  faintly  twinkling.  Not  a 
breath  of  wind  stirred  ;  and  yet  it  seemed  to  us  that  if  a 
sound  had  been  uttered  anywhere  in  the  world,  it  must  have 
been  carried  to  us  on  this  height.  "We  were  as  gods  up 
here  in  the  cold  sky  and  the  moonlight ;  and  far  away  over 
the  earth,  sleep  had  sealed  the  lips  and  the  eyes  of  those 
poor  creatures  who  had  forgotten  their  sorrows  for  a  time. 
Should  we  send  them  dreams  to  sweeten  their  lives  by  some 
glimpses  of  a  world  different  from  their  own,  and  cause 
them  to  awaken  in  the  morning  with  some  reminiscence  of 
the  trance  in  their  softened  memories  ?  Or  would  it  not  be 
better  to  drown  them  in  the  fast  and  hard  sleep  of  fatigue, 
so  that  the  dawn  might  bring  them  a  firmer  heart  and  no 
vanity  of  wishes  ?  Gods  as  we  were,  we  had  no  care  for 
ourselves.  It  was  enough  to  be.  Could  not  the  night  last 
for  ever,  and  keep  us  up  here  near  the  stars,  and  give  us 
content  and  an  absolute  want  of  anxiety  for  the  morrow  ? 
Queen  Titania  wandered  on  as  if  she  were  in  an  enchanted 


OF  A  PHAETON.  119 

land,  followed  by  a  black  shadow  on  the  white  highway  ; 
and  her  face,  with  all  its  gentleness  and  delicacy,  seemed 
to  have  gained  something  of  a  pale  and  wistful  tenderness 
in  the  mystic  radiance  that  shone  down  over  the  dark 
woods  and  crossed  our  path.  As  for  Bell — but  who  can 
describe  the  grace  of  the  figure  that  walked  before  us — the 
light  touching  the  grey  shawl,  and  the  fine  masses  of  brown 
hair  that  hung  all  around  the  shapely  neck  and  shoulders  ? 
We  four  were  in  England,  sure  enough  ;  but  it  seemed  to  us 
then  that  we  were  very  much  alone,  and  about  as  near  to 
the  starry  world  as  to  the  definite  landscape  lying  far  away 
on  the  plain. 

We  turned,  however,  when  it  was  found  that  the  road  did 
not  lead  to  any  view  of  the  western  country.  It  seemed  to 
run  along  a  high  level,  cutting  through  between  sand-pits, 
farms,  and  woods ;  and  so  we  made  our  way  back  to  the 
bit  of  common  overlooking  Bourton ;  and  there  we  had  a 
few  minutes'  rest  before  getting  into  the  small  inn,  whose 
windows  were  gleaming  red  into  the  white  moonlight. 

"Now  you  must  sing  to  us  something,  Mademoiselle," 
said  the  Lieutenant ;  "  and  here  is  a  fine  big  tree  cut  down, 
that  we  can  all  sit  on  ;  and  you  shall  appear  as  Apollo  in 
disguise,  charming  the  natives  of  this  landscape  with  your 
song." 

"But  I  do  not  know  anything  that  Apollo  sang,"  said 
Bell — sitting  down,  nevertheless,  and  taking  the  guitar  from 
her  companion. 

"  That  is  no  matter.  You  must  think  yourself  some  one 
else — why  not  Zerlina,  in  this  strange  place,  and  you  see 
Fra  Diavolo  sitting  alone  on  the  rock,  and  you  sing  of  him, 
yes  ?  This  is  a  very  good  place  for  highwaymen.  I  have 
no  doubt  they  have  sat  here,  and  watched  the  gentleman's 
carriage  come  up  the  road  beneath  ;  and  then,  hey  !  with  a 
rush  and  a  flourish  of  pistols,  and  a  seizing  of  the  horses, 
and  Madame  shrieks  in  the  carriage,  and  her  husband, 
trembling,  but  talking  very  brave,  gives  up  his  money,  and 
drives  on,  with  much  swearing,  but  very  contented  to  have 
no  hurt." 

"  You  are  very  familiar  with  the  ways  of  highway  robbers," 
said  Bell,  with  a  smile. 

"  Mademoiselle,  I  am  an  Uhlan,"  he  replied  gravely. 


120  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

Two  at  least  of  the  party  startled  the  midnight  air  with 
their  laughter  over  this  unintentional  rebuke  ;  but  Bell, 
conscious  of  past  backslidings,  seemed  rather  discomfited, 
and  hastened  to  say  that  she  would,  if  he  pleased,  sing  the 
song  in  which  Zerlina  describes  the  bandit. 

She  sang  it,  too,  very  charmingly,  in  that  strange  silence. 
Knowing  that  we  would  not  stare  at  her,  she  lent  herself 
somewhat  to  the  character ;  and  we  could  hear  the  terror 
of  Zerlina  thrilling  through  her  experiences  of  the  dreaded 
Diavolo.  "  Diavolo  !  Diavolo  !  "  the  very  woods  around  us 
seemed  to  say.  "  Diavolo  !  Diavolo  !  "  throbbed  the  bass 
strings  of  the  guitar  ;  and  the  girl's  voice  trembled  in  its 
low  tones  as  she  pronounced  the  name.  If  any  lonely 
stranger  had  been  passing  along  the  highway  at  this  hour, 
what  would  he  have  thought  of  this  marvellous  thing, — a 
beautiful  girl  seated  overhead,  amid  the  stars,  apparently, 
with  the  moonlight  striking  on  her  exquisite  face  and  her 
masses  of  hair,  while  she  sang  in  a  low  and  impassioned 
voice,  and  struck  chords  from  some  strange  instrument  ? 
Would  she  not  appear  as  some  wild  vision  of  the  Lorelei  ? 
Or,  considering  that  certain  companions  were  visible,  and 
some  talking  and  jesting  occasionally  heard,  might  not  this 
be  a  company  of  strolling  play-actors,  such  as  all  honest 
persons  were  aforetime  conjured  to  discountenance  and 
suppress  ?  * 

You  know  that  when  Zerlina  has  sung  the  first  verses  of 
her  dramatic  song,  Diavolo,  disguised  as  a  marquis,  suddenly 
rises  and  sings  the  concluding  verse  himself.  Bell  accord- 
ingly handed  the  guitar  to  Count  von  Rosen,  with  a  pretty 
smile.  But  would  a  young  man,  on  such  a  night,  sing  a 
ballad  about  a  mere  bandit  ?  No  !  The  Lieutenant  was 
not  averse  to  act  the  character  of  Diavolo,  so  far  as  his 
minstrelsy  went ;  but  he  adopted  one  of  his  gentler  moods. 
Lightly  running  his  fingers  over  the  strings,  he  began  to 

*  "  All  persons  concerned  are  hereby  desired  to  take  notice  of  and 
suppress  all  mountebanks,  rope-dancers,  ballad-singers,  &c.,  that  have 
not  a  licence  from  the  Master  of  his  Majesty's  Revels  (which  for  the 
present  year  are  all  printed  with  black  letters,  and  the  king's  arms  in 
red)  .  .  .  and  all  those  that  have  licences  with  red  and  black  letters, 
are  to  come  to  the  office  to  change  them  for  licences  as  they  are  now 
altered.  April  17,  1684." 


OF  A  PHAETON.  121 

sing  of  Agnese  la  Zitella  ;  and  how  had  he  learned  to  soften 
his  voice  so  ?  The  pretty  Agnes  was  told  that  she  was  as 
sweet  as  the  Spring  ;  and  then  she  is  made  to  call  forth  her 
lover  because  the  night  is  so  fair — so  much  fairer  than  the 
day — and  so  silent.  'Tis  a  pleasant  barcarolle,  and  conveys  a 
message  as  well  as  another.  But  lest  he  should  be  thought 
too  bold,  probably,  our  Uhlan  rose  abruptly  when  he  had 
finished  the  song,  and  said  lightly,  with  a  laugh — 

"  There  !  was  not  that  touching  enough  for  Diavolo  ? 
He  was  a  very  accomplished  person,  to  have  all  the  rough 
delights  of  a  brigand,  and  then  go  about  dressed  as  a 
marquis,  and  amuse  himself  with  adventures.  I  think 
they  treated  him  badly  in  the  end,  if  I  do  remember 
right." 

Bell  did  not  answer.  She  had  got  back  the  guitar. 
Apparently  she  was  looking  far  down  over  the  moonlit  plain 
— her  eyes  grown  distant  and  thoughtful ;  and  as  her  fingers 
wandered  over  the  strings,  we  heard,  almost  as  in  a  dream, 
the  various  careless  notes  shape  themselves  into  a  melody — 
a  wild,  sad  melody,  that  seemed  to  breathe  the  tenderness 
and  the  loneliness  of  this  still  night.  "  Silent,  0  Moyle, 
be  the  sound  of  thy  waters  " — perhaps  that  was  the  air  ;  or 
perhaps  it  was  the  heart-breaking  "  Coolin " — one  could 
scarcely  say  ;  but  when  at  last  we  heard  no  more  of  it, 
Tita  rose  and  said  we  must  go  indoors.  There  was  some- 
thing quite  regretful  in  her  tone.  It  seemed  as  if  she 
were  bidding  good-bye  to  a  scene  not  soon  to  be  met  with 
again. 

The  Lieutenant  gave  his  hand  to  Bell,  and  assisted  her 
down  the  steep  bank  into  the  road  ;  and  we  passed  on  until 
we  reached  the  red-windowed  inn.  We  cast  a  brief  glance 
around.  Bourton  lay  beneath  us,  asleep.  The  great  land- 
scape beyond  remained  dark  and  still  under  the  luminous 
whiteness  of  the  air.  The  silence  seemed  too  sacred  to  be 
broken. 

"  Good  night,"  said  Tita  to  the  Lieutenant ;  "  I  hope  you 
have  spent  at  least  one  pleasant  evening  with  us  on  this 
journey." 

"  I  have  spent  many,  Madame,"  he  said  earnestly,  "  and 
many  very  pleasant  mornings  and  days,  and  I  hope  we  shall 
have  a  great  many  more.  I  do  think  we  four  ought  to  turn 


122  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

vagrants — gipsies,  you  call  them — and  go  away  altogether, 
and  never  go  back  any  more  to  a  large  town." 

"  What  do  you  say,  Bell  ?  "  asked  Tita,  with  a  kindly,  if 
half -mischievous,  look. 

"  I  suppose  we  get  to  Worcester  to-morrow,"  said  Bell, 
with  not  much  appearance  of  joy  in  her  face  ;  and  then  she 
bade  good-night  to  us  all,  and  left  with  my  Lady. 

"There  it  is,"  said  the  Lieutenant,  with  an  impatient 
flinging  down  of  his  cap  on  the  table.  "  That  is  what 
interferes  with  all  our  pleasure.  You  go  away  on  the  most 
delightful  excursion  in  the  world — you  have  the  most 
beautiful  scenes,  and  pleasant  companions,  and  freedom — 
everything  you  can  wish  ;  and  then  the  young  lady  who 
ought  to  be  more  happy  than  anyone — who  is  at  the  time  of 
life  to  have  no  care  but  to  enjoy  her  prettiness  and  her  good 
temper,  and  all  that — who  is  the  pleasant  ornament  of  the 
excursion,  and  is  a  great  delight  to  all  of  us — then  she  is 
vexed  and  frightened  because  that  this — this — this  con- 
temptible fellow  threatens  to  meet  her  in  one  of  those  big 
towns.  Sacker-rrrr-ment !  I  do  hope  he  will  come  and 
have  it  over — but  if  he  is  annoying — if  he  troubles  her  any 
more " 

Thus  do  we  poor  mortals  fret  and  vex  ourselves  in  the 
midst  of  our  happiest  circumstances.  But  at  last  there 
comes  a  time  for  sleep.  And  soon  this  solitary  inn  on  the 
height  was  as  quiet  and  peaceful  as  the  great  world  outside, 
where  the  moonlight  seemed  to  have  hushed  the  very  winds 
to  rest,  and  where  the  far  woods  and  the  streams  and  the 
low  hills  along  the  edge  of  the  land  lay  still  and  dark  under 
the  cold  majesty  of  the  stars. 

{Note  l>y  Queen  Titania,  written  at  Worcester  on  the  evening  of  the 
following  day. — "  Any  comment  of  mine  on  the  foregoing  is  at  the 
moment  unnecessary  ;  we  have  other  matters  to  engage  our  attention. 
Arthur  has  come.  I  can  find  no  words  to  express  the  deep  and  serious 
annoyance  which  this  escapade  is  likely  to  cause.  All  our  plans  may 
be  upset ;  for  he  can  scarcely  explain  his  present  wild  proceedings 
without  provoking  some  sort  of  final  agreement  with  Bell.  And  sup- 
pose she  should  consent  to  be  engaged  to  him,  how  are  \ve  to  continue 
our  journey  ?  Of  course  he  will  not  allow  her :  if  he  had  not  disliked 
it,  he  would  not  be  here  now.  Certainly,  I  think  Bell  has  acted  im- 
prudently ;  for  I  told  her  that  if  she  did  not  answer  his  letter,  he  would 
be  sure  to  imagine  all  manner  of  things,  and  come  and  confront 


OF  A  PHAETON.  123 

her.  The  consequence  is  that  she  is,  I  fear,  in  a  great  dilemma ;  for 
I  do  not  see  how  she  can  avoid  either  refusing  him  altogether,  or 
consenting  to  everything  that  he  asks.  And  as  we  can't  continue  our 
journey  till  Monday,  he  will  have  a  whole  day  to  persecute  her  into 
giving  him  an  answer  of  some  kind  ;  and  then  she  is  so  foolishly  good- 
hearted  that,  if  he  is  only  pathetic  enough,  she  will  say  '  yes '  to  every- 
thing. It  is  most  provoking.  If  we  could  only  get  this  one  day  over, 
and  Mm  bade  to  London  I "] 


CHAPTER  X. 

THE   AVENGEE. 

"Love  had  ordained  that  it  was  Abra's  turn 
To  mix  the  sweets,  and  minister  the  urn." 

SUEELY  nine  o'clock  was  early  enough  for  breakfast  at 
fchis  remote  little  inn  on  the  top  of  the  hill ;  and  indeed, 
when  we  parted  the  night  before,  after  our  moonlight 
improvisation  of  Fra  Diavolo,  that  was  the  hour  agreed 
upon.  Nine  o'clock  !  Going  down  at  a  quarter  past  eight, 
with  some  notion  that  the  Lieutenant  might  have  sat  up  half 
the  night  consuming  his  wrath  in  the  smoking  of  many 
cigars,  and  might  now  be  still  in  bed,  I  heard  voices. 
Sometimes  there  was  a  laugh — and  no  one  who  had  once 
heard  Bell's  musical  laugh  could  ever  mistake  it.  When  I 
went  into  the  parlour  which  had  been  the  Lieutenant's  bed- 
room, I  found  that  all  traces  of  his  occupation  were  gone  : 
a  fire  was  burning  brightly  in  the  grate  ;  the  breakfast  tray 
was  laid  ;  and  Bell  sat  at  the  open  window,  talking  to  von 
Rosen  himself,  who  was  standing  out  on  the  pavement  in 
the  full  blaze  of  the  morning  sunshine  that  now  filled  the 
main  thoroughfare  of  Bourton-on-the-Hill. 

Bell  looked  round  with  a  startled  air. 

"  My  dear,"  I  observed  to  her,  "  travelling  is  doing  you  a 
world  of  good.  Early  rising  is  an  excellent  thing  for  young 
people." 

"I  did  not  know  when  you  might  want  to  start,"  she 
answered,  gently,  and  rather  averting  her  eyes — for  which 
there  was  no  reason  whatever. 

At  this  moment  Queen  Titania  came  down,  looking  brisk 
and  cheerful,  as  she  always  does  in  the  morning.  She 
glanced  at  the  fire,  at  the  clean  table,  at  Bell  sitting  by  the 


124  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

open  window,  and  at  the  blaze  of  sunlight  on  the  wall  on  the 
other  side  of  the  street.  Apparently,  this  pleasant  picture 
put  her  into  an  admirable  humour,  and  she  said  to  the 
Lieutenant,  with  one  of  her  brightest  looks — 

"  Well,  have  you  been  making  discoveries  this  morning  ? 
Have  you  made  the  acquaintance  of  many  people  ?  Has 
Bourton-on-the-Hill  anything  peculiar  about  it  ? 

"  Oh  yes,  Madame,"  said  the  Lieutenant  seriously. 
"  Something  very  singular,  which  you  will  not  like  to  hear. 
This  is  an  English  village,  in  the  middle  of  the  country  ;  and 
yet  they  never  have  any  milk  here — never.  They  cannot 
get  any.  The  farmers  prefer  to  make  butter  ;  and  they  will 
not  sell  milk  on  any  inducement." 

"  Why,"  said  Tita,  "  that  is  the  reason  of  our  having  no 
milk  with  our  tea  last  evening  !  But  is  there  no  one  the 
landlady  can  beg  a  little  milk  from  ?  " 

The  Lieutenant  looked  at  Bell ;  and  that  young  lady 
endeavoured  to  conceal  a  smile.  They  had  evidently  been 
speculating  on  Tita's  dismay  before  we  came  down. 

"  The  great  farmer  in  the  neighbourhood,"  continued  the 
Lieutenant,  gravely,  "  is  a  Mrs.  Phillips.  I  think  she  owns 
all  the  cattle — all  the  milk.  I  did  send  to  her  a  polite 
message  an  hour  ago,  to  ask  if  she  would  present  us  with  a 
little  of  it — but  no ;  there  is  no  answer.  At  the  moment 
that  Mademoiselle  came  down,  I  was  going  up  to  Mrs. 
Phillips's  farm,  to  get  the  milk  for  you ;  but  Mademoiselle 
was  too  proud  for  that,  and  would  not  allow  me  to  go,  and 
said  she  would  not  take  it  now  since  the  woman  had 
refused  it." 

"  And  how  did  you  propose  to  overcome  Mrs.  Phillips's 
obstinacy  ?  "  asked  Tita,  who  seemed  possessed  by  a  fear 
that  sooner  or  later  the  predatory  instincts  of  this  Uhlan 
would  get  us  into  trouble. 

"  Oh,  I  do  not  know,  but  I  should  have  got  it  some  way," 
said  the  Lieutenant  ;  and  with  that  he  held  out  a  small 
book  he  had  in  his  hand.  "  See  !  I  have  made  more 
discoveries  this  morning.  Here  is  a  note-book  I  have  found, 
of  a  young  lady  at  school,  who  has  been  staying,  perhaps,  at 
this  house  ;  and  it  has  given  me  much  amusement — oh, 
very  much  amusement,  and  instruction  also.  It  is  just  the 
same  as  if  I  had  been  in  the  school  with  -her,  and  she  has 


OF  A  PHAETON.  125 

told  me  all  about  her  teachers,  and  the  other  girls,  and  all 
that.  Shall  I  read  some  to  you  ?  " 

"  Now,  is  it  fair,"  said  Bell,  "  to  peep  into  a  young  lady's 
secrets  like  that  ? " 

"  But  I  have  done  so  already,"  replied  von  Rosen,  coolly. 
"  I  have  read  it  all — and  now  I  will  tell  you  some  of  it. 
First,  there  are  addresses  of  friends — that  is  nothing.  Then 
there  are  stitches  of  knitting — that  is  nothing ;  only  the 
young  lady  seems  correct  and  methodist — no,  methodical,  I 
should  say.  Then  there  are  notes  of  lectures  ;  and  very  much 
good  information  in  them,  oh,  very  good  indeed — I  am  not 
surprised  your  English  young  ladies  know  very  much.  Let 
me  see  :  '  Epic  poetry  we  like,  because  they  treat  of  great  men 
and  great  actions.  "  Paradise  Lost "  admired  for  its  noble 
language.  Milton  a  Puritan.  England  receives  solidity  of 
character  from  the  Puritans.  Dryden  and  Byron  are  not 
read,  although  very  great.  Byron  hated  his  own  race — is  not 
a  good  poet  to  read.'  This  is  very  good  instruction  ;  but  she 
hastens  now  to  put  down  something  about  two  other  girls, 
who  were  perhaps  at  the  lecture.  She  says  :  '  Shocking, 
impertinent,  ill-bred  creatures  ;  my  spirit  recoils  from  them* 
Then  there  is  a  question  addressed  to  her  neighbour  :  '  Do 
you  see  how  Miss  Williams  has  got  her  hair  done  ? ' ' 

Here  Queen  Titania  protested  against  these  revelations, 
and  would  have  held  out  her  hand  for  the  book ;  but  the 
Lieutenant  only  stepped  back  a  few  inches  from  the  window, 
and  said,  seriously— 

"There  is  much  better  information  to  come.  Here  she 
puts  down  in  order  the  phrases  which  one  of  the  masters  has 
used  to  her  class  :  polite  phrases,  she  says,  to  use  to  ladies. 
1.  You  degrade  yourselves.  2.  How  much  more  kitchen- 
maidism  ?  3.  Simply  offensive.  4.  It  shows  how  you  have 
been  brought  up.  5.  /  will  put  a  stop  to  this  impertinence. 
6.  Silence,  ladies  !  7.  Pretty  conduct !  I  am  afraid  he  has 
had  an  unruly  class.  Then  the  young  lady  has  a  little 
piece  of  composition  which  I  think  is  the  beginning  of  a 
novel.  She  says  :  '  The  summit  of  Camberwell  Grove,  which 
forms  part  of  the  lordly  elevation  Jcnotvn  as  Denmark  Hill,  is 
one  of  the  most  charming  and  secluded  retreats  around  the 
great  metropolis.  Here,  in  the  spring-time,  groves  of  lindens 
put  forth  their  joyous  leaves,  and  birds  of  various  colours  flit 


126  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

through  the  branches,  singing  hymns  of  praise.  On  the  one 
side,  the  dreary  city  dwells  behind  an  enchanted  veil  of  trees  ; 
on  the  other,  you  pass  into  emerald  fields,  which  stretch  onwards 
to  the  Arabian  magnificence  of  the  Crystal  Palace.  In  this 
lofty  and  picturesque  spot,  Lord  Arthur  Beauregard  was 
accustomed  to  pace,  musing  on  the  mystery  and  gloom  which 
had  enveloped  him  since  he  left  the  cradle?  There  is  no  more 
of  this  very  good  story  ;  but  on  the  next  page  there  is  a 
curious  thing,  there  are  three  lines  all  surrounded  by  a  scroll, 
and  do  you  know  what  is  written  ? — i  A  Woman  can  do  ANY- 
THING with  a  man  by  not  contradicting  him ;'  and  under- 
neath the  scroll  is  written,  '  Don't  I  wish  this  was  true  ? 

Helen  M .'  None  of  the  rest  is  written  so  clearly  as 

this " 

"  Count  von  Eosen,  I  will  not  listen  to  any  more  !  "  cried 
Queen  Tita.  "  It  is  most  unfair  of  you  to  have  been  read- 
ing this  young  lady's  confessions " 

"  I  get  them  in  a  public  inn  :  I  have  the  right,  have  I 
not  ?  "  remonstrated  the  Lieutenant.  "  It  is  not  for  pleasure 
— it  is  for  my  instruction  that  I  read.  Oh,  there  are  very 
strange  things  in  this  book." 

"  Pray  give  it  to  me,"  said  Bell,  quite  gently. 

He  had  refused  to  surrender  it  to  my  Lady  ;  but  the 
moment  that  Bell  asked  for  it,  he  came  forward  and 
handed  it  in  through  the  window.  Then  he  came  in  to 
breakfast. 

Little  time  was  spent  at  breakfast ;  the  sun  was  shining  too 
brightly  outside.  We  called  for  our  bill,  which  was  brought 
in.  It  was  entitled  "Bill  of  Fare."  Our  dinner  of  the 
previous  evening  was  called  tea,  and  charged  at  the  rate  of 
one  shilling  a  head.  Our  breakfasts  were  one  shilling  each. 
Our  bedrooms  were  one  shilling  each.  Any  traveller,  there- 
fore, who  proposes  to  stay  at  Bourton-on-the-Hill,  cannot 
do  better  than  put  up  at  the  inn  of  W.  Seth  Dyde,  especially 
as  there  is  no  other  ;  and  I  heartily  wish  that  he  may  enjoy 
something  of  the  pleasant  companionship,  the  moonlight, 
and  the  morning  freshness  that  graced  our  sojourn  on  the 
top  of  this  Worcestershire  hill. 

Then  into  the  phaeton  again,  and  away  we  go  through  the 
white  sunlight  and  the  fresh  morning  breeze  that  is  blowing 
about  these  lofty  woods  !  There  is  a  resinous  odour  in  the 


OF  A  PHAETON.  127 

air,  coming  from  the  furze  and  the  ferns.  The  road  glares 
in  the  sunlight.  Overhead  the  still  azure  is  scarcely  flecked 
by  a  cloud  ;  but  all  the  same  there  is  a  prevailing  coolness 
that  makes  the  driving  through  the  morning  air  delicious. 
It  is  a  lonely  country — this  stretch  of  forest  and  field  on  the 
high  level  between  Bourton  and  Broadway.  We  pass  Bour- 
ton  Clump,  and  leave  Bourton  Wood  on  the  right.  We 
skirt  Upton  Wold,  and  get  on  by  Furze  Heath.  Then,  all 
at  once,  the  land  in  front  of  us  seems  to  drop  down  ;  we 
come  in  sight  of  an  immense  stretch  of  blue  plain,  from 
which  the  thin  mists  of  the  morning  have  not  wholly  risen. 
We  are  on  the  top  of  the  famous  Broadway  Hill. 

By  the  side  of  the  road  there  is  a  strange,  old-fashioned 
little  building,  which  is  apparently  a  wayside  chapel.  Count 
von  Eosen  jumps  down  to  have  a  look  at  this  odd  relic  of 
our  former  Catholicism,  which  has  remained  on  the  summit 
of  this  hih1  for  several  centuries.  He  can  discover  nothing 
but  a  sign  which  tells  that  this  sacred  edifice  now  contains 
wines,  spirits,  and  beer  ;  so  he  comes  back,  and  goes  up  to 
the  corner  of  a  field  opposite,  where  a  middle-aged  man, 
surrounded  by  some  young  folks,  is  making  hay.  In  the 
utter  stillness  of  the  place,  we  can  hear  ah1  the  questions  and 
answers.  The  small  building  is  not  so  very  old  ;  it  never 
was  a  church.  The  stones  there  mark  the  boundary 
between  Gloucester  and  Worcester.  The  view  from  this 
place  is  considered  unrivalled  for  extent ;  you  can  see  the 
Black  Sandy  Mountains  on  a  very  clear  day. 

"  Indeed !  "  says  the  Count.  "  Where  are  they,  the 
mountains  you  speak  of  ?  " 

"  I  don'  knaw,  sir — I've  heered  tell  on  'em — I  never  wur 
theear." 

Going  down  this  steep  hill  Tita  looks  anxious.  A  bad 
stumble,  and  we  should  go  rolling  over  the  little  wall  into 
the  ravine  beneath.  One  has  a  far-off  reminiscence  of 
Switzerland  in  watching  the  horses  hanging  back  from  the 
pole  in  this  fashion,  while  every  bend  of  the  road  seems 
more  precipitous  than  its  predecessor.  Then  we  get  down  to 
the  plain,  rattle  through  the  level  and  straggling  village  of 
Broadway,  and  drive  into  the  fields  again,  where  the  sun  is 
lying  warmer  than  it  was  up  over  the  top  of  the  hill. 

There  is  a  small  boy  in  a  smockfrock  sitting  underneath 


128  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

the  hedge,  whittling  a  stick,  while  a  shepherd's  dog  lies  on 
the  grass  beside  him. 

"  Evesham  ?  "  calls  out  the  Count,  as  we  pass,  merely 
because  there  has  been  a  little  doubt  about  the  road. 

"  Naw,  zir,"  was  the  answer,  uttered  with  a  fine  com- 
posure. 

Of  course  we  pull  up  directly. 

"  Isn't  this  the  way  to  Evesham  ?  "  I  ask. 

"Yaas,  zir,"  says  the  boy,  coolly  looking  up  from  his. 
stick,  but  sitting  still. 

i  This  is  the  way  to  Evesham  ?  " 

'  Yaas,  zir." 

'  Do  you  know  where  it  is  ?  " 

'  Naw,  zir." 

*  He  is  a  very  cautious  boy,"  says  the  Lieutenant,  as  we 
dr  ve  on  ;  "a  very  cautious  boy  indeed." 

"  If  he  had  been  asked  properly  at  first,"  says  BeU,  with 
great  gravity,  "  he  would  have  given  a  proper  answer.  But 
when  you  say,  '  Evesham  ?  '  of  course  the  boy  tells  you  this 
is  not  Evesham." 

Evesham,  when  we  did  get  to  it,  was  found  to  be  a  very 
bright,  clean,  and  lively  little  town,  with  the  river  Avon, 
slowly  gliding  through  flat  meadows,  forming  a  sort  of  loop 
around  it.  In  the  quaint  streets  a  good  amount  of  business 
seemed  to  be  going  on  ;  and  as  we  put  up  at  the  Crown,  and 
went  off  for  a  brief  ramble  through  the  place,  we  found 
quite  an  air  of  fashion  in  the  costume  of  the  young  ladies 
and  the  young  gentlemen  whom  we  met.  But  the  latter, 
although  they  had  copied  very  accurately  the  Prince  of 
Wales's  dress  of  the  previous  year,  and  had  very  stiff  collars 
and  prominent  canes,  had  an  odd  look  of  robust  health  in 
their  cheeks,  which  showed  they  were  not  familiar  with 
Piccadilly  and  the  Park  ;  while  the  former,  although  they 
were  very  pretty  and  very  neatly  attired,  ought  not  to  have 
turned  and  pretended  to  look  into  the  shop-windows  in  order 
to  have  a  scrutiny  of  Bell's  pretty  grey  dress  and  hat,  and 
of  Queen  Titania's  more  severe  but  no  less  graceful  costume. 
But  Evesham  does  not  often  entertain  two  angels  unawares  ; 
and  some  little  curiosity  on  the  part  of  its  inhabitants  may 
be  forgiven. 

The  people  of  Evesham  are  not  much  given  to  boating  on 


OF  A  PHAETON.  129 

the  Avon  ;  and  so — postponing  our  usual  river  excursion 
until  we  should  reach  the  Severn — Bell  besought  us  to  go 
into  a  photographer's  establishment,  and  make  experiments 
with  our  appearance.  The  artist  in  question  lived  in  a 
wooden  house  on  wheels  ;  and  there  were  specimens  of  his 
handiwork  nailed  up  outside.  Our  entrance  apparently 
surprised  the  photographer,  who  seemed  a  little  nervous,  and 
perhaps  was  a  trifle  afraid  that  we  should  smile  at  his  efforts 
in  art.  But  surely  nothing  could  be  more  kindly  than  Bell's 
suggestions  to  him  and  her  conversation  with  him  ;  for  she, 
as  a  "  professional  "  herself,  conducted  the  negotiations  and 
arranged  the  groups.  The  artist,  charmed  to  see  that  she 
knew  all  about  his  occult  processes,  and  that  she  was  withal 
a  very  courteous  and  kindly  visitor,  became  almost  too  con- 
fidential with  her,  and  began  to  talk  to  her  of  us  three  as  if 
we  were  but  blocks  of  wood  and  of  stone  to  be  played  with 
as  these  two  savants  chose.  Of  the  result  of  the  various 
combinations  into  which  we  were  thus  forced,  little  need  be 
said.  Queen  Titania  came  out  very  well ;  her  pale,  dark, 
clear-cut  face  telling  in  every  picture,  and  even  making  us 
forget  the  tawdry  bit  of  brass  and  the  purple  velvet  of  the 
frame.  As  for  the  rest  of  us,  a  journey  is  not  a  good  time 
to  have  one's  portrait  taken.  The  flush  of  healthy  colour 
produced  by  the  wind,  and  by  much  burning  of  the  sun, 
may  look  well  on  the  natural  face,  but  is  apt  to  produce 
a  different  effect  on  glass. 

The  Lieutenant,  for  example,  roared  with  laughter  when 
he  saw  himself  transfigured  into  a  ferocious  bandit,  with  a 
great  black  beard,  a  dark  face,  and  two  white  holes  where 
his  eyes  should  have  been.  But  the  moment  he  had 
laughed  out,  he  caught  sight  of  Bell.  The  young  lady 
looked  very  much  vexed,  and  her  eyes  were  cast  down. 
Instantly  the  young  man  said,  loud  enough  for  the  photo- 
grapher to  hear — 

"  I  do  seem  to  myself  very  ridiculous  in  this  English 
costume.  When  you  are  used  to  uniforms  for  a  very  long- 
time, and  all  at  once  get  into  this  common  dress,  you  think 
yourself  some  other  person,  and  you  cannot  help  laughing  at 
the  appearance  yourself  makes." 

Bell's  eyes  said;  "  Thank  you "  as  plainly  as  eyes  could 
speak  ;  and  then  she  paid  a  very  grave  and  gentle  compliment 


130  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

to  the  artist,  whom  we  left  beaming  over  with  pride  and 
gratitude  towards  the  young  lady. 

"  To  go  flirting  with  a  travelling  photographer ! "  says 
Queen  Tita,  as  we  go  in  to  luncheon.  "  For  shame,  Bell !  " 

"  No,  it  was  only  Mademoiselle's  good  nature  to  the  poor 
man,"  replies  the  Lieutenant,  with  an  unnecessary  tone  of 
earnest  protest.  "  I  do  think  he  is  the  very  happiest  person 
in  Evesham — that  he  has  not  been  so  happy  for  many  and 
many  a  day." 

"  I  think  the  portraits  are  very  good,"  says  Bell,  bravely, 
"  if  you  consider  how  he  has  to  work." 

"Now  you  know  you  can't  excuse  yourself,  Bell,"  says 
my  Lady.  "  You  paid  him  compliments  that  would  have 
turned  any  man's  head  ;  and  as  for  the  truth  of  them — or 
rather  the  unblushing  perversion  of  truth  in  them — 

But  at  this  moment  Tita  happened  to  be  passing  Bell's 
chair,  and  she  put  her  hand  very  gently  on  the  young  lady's 
head  and  patted  her  cheek — a  little  caressing  action  which 
said  more  than  a  thousand  protestations  of  endearment. 

Our  setting  out  for  Worcester  was  rather  a  dismal  busi- 
ness. Were  we  school-children  who  had  been  playing 
truant,  that  we  should  regard  with  apprehension  a  return  to 
town  ?  Or  were  Bell's  vague  fears  contagious  ?  In  vain 
the  Lieutenant  sought  to  cheer  her.  She  knew,  and  we  all 
of  us  knew,  that  if  Arthur  Ashburton  chose  to  come  and  ask 
to  see  her,  nothing  could  be  easier  than  for  him  to  discover 
our  whereabouts.  He  was  aware  of  our  route,  and  had  been 
told  the  names  of  the  principal  places  at  which  we  should 
stop.  A  party  of  four  arriving  from  London  in  a  phaeton 
is  not  a  customary  occurrence  ;  and  a  brief  inquiry  at  the 
chief  hotels  in  any  town  would  be  likely  to  give  him  all  the 
information  he  required. 

Then,  as  we  afterwards  discovered,  Bell  had  returned  no 
answer  to  the  letter  he  had  sent  to  Oxford.  She  had  been 
too  much  hurt,  and  had  forborne  to  reply  in  kind.  Who 
does  not  know  the  distracting  doubts  and  fears  that  an  un- 
answered letter — when  one  is  at  a  certain  age  in  life — may 
conjure  up,  and  the  terrible  suspense  that  may  prompt  to 
the  wildest  action  ?  We  seemed  to  share  in  Bell's  dismay. 
The  Lieutenant,  however,  was  light-hearted  enough  ;  and,  as 
he  relinquished  his  attempts  to  break  the  silence,  he  sent  the 


OF  A  PHAETON.    •  131 

horses  on  at  a  good  pace,  and  hummed  to  himself  broken 
snatches  of  a  ballad,  and  talked  caressingly  to  Castor  and 
Pollux. 

When  we  were  a  few  miles  from  Evesham,  without  having 
seen  anywhere  a  glimpse  of  the  obelisk  that  stands  on  the 
famous  Evesham  plain,  it  occurred  to  us  that  we  might  as 
well  ask  if  we  were  on  the  proper  road.  There  seemed  a 
curious  quietness  and  picturesqueness  about  the  wooded 
lanes  through  which  we  were  driving  in  the  calm  of  the 
twilight.  At  length  we  reached  a  turnpike  at  the  corner  of 
several  unfrequented  paths  ;  and  here  an  old  lady  was  con- 
tentedly sewing,  while  her  assistant,  a  pretty  little  girl  of 
thirteen,  collected  the  sixpences.  Well,  we  had  only  come 
about  five  miles  out  of  our  route.  Instead  of  going  by 
Pershore,  we  had  struck  away  northward,  and  were  now  in  a 
labyrinth  of  country  lanes,  by  any  one  of  which  we  might 
make  our  way  along  through  the  still  landscape  to  Worcester. 
Indeed,  we  had  no  cause  to  regret  this  error.  The  out-of- 
the-way  road  that  runs  by  Flyford  Flavell  and  Broughton 
Hackett  proved  to  be  one  of  the  pleasantest  we  had  traversed. 
In  the  clear  twilight  we  found  ourselves  driving  through  a 
silent  and  picturesque  district,  the  only  life  visible  in  which 
was  the  abundant  game.  The  partridges  that  were  dusting 
themselves  in  the  highway  before  us  did  not  get  up  and 
disappear  with  a  strong,  low  flight  towards  some  distant 
field,  but  walked  sedately  into  the  grass  by  the  roadside,  and 
then  passed  through  the  hedge.  We  saw  several  pheasants 
calmly  standing  at  the  outskirts  of  the  woods.  The  plump 
little  rabbits  ran  about  like  mice  around  the  fences.  The 
sound  of  the  phaeton  wheels  was  the  only  noise  heard  in  this 
peaceful  solitude  ;  and  as  we  drove  on,  the  dusk  grew  apace  ; 
and  the  movements  of  bird  and  beast  were  no  longer  visible. 

Then  a  new  twilight  arose — a  faint  clear  light  shining  up 
from  below  the  horizon,  and  we  knew  that  the  moon  would 
speedily  be  glimmering  through  the  black  branches  of  the 
trees.  The  hamlets  we  passed  showed  streaks  of  red  within 
their  windows.  There  were  glowworms  in  the  road — points 
of  blue  fire  in  the  vague  darkness.  Then  we  drove  into  the 
gloom  of  the  avenues  of  Spetchley  Park  ;  and  finally,  with 
still  another  glare  appearing  in  the  heavens — this  time  a 
ruddy  hue  like  the  reflection  of  a  Great  fire — we  got  nearer 

K  2 


I32  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

and  nearer  to  the  busy  town,  and  at  last  heard  the  horses' 
hoofs  clattering  on  a  stone  street. 

The  thoroughfares  of  Worcester  were  busy  on  this  Satur- 
day night;  but  at  length  we  managed  to  make 'our  way 
through  the  people  and  vehicles  up  to  the  Star  Hotel.  "We 
drove  into  the  spacious  archway,  and  passed  into  the  hall, 
while  the  people  were  bringing  in  our  luggage.  The  Lieu- 
tenant was,  as  usual,  busy  in  giving  orders  about  everything, 
when  the  head  waiter  came  up  and  begged  to  know  my 
name.  Then  he  presented  a  card. 

"  The  gentleman  is  staying  at  the  '  Crown.'  Shall  I  send 
him  a  message,  sir  ?  " 

"  No,"  says  Tita,  interposing  ;  "  I  will  write  a  note,  and 
ask  him  to  come  round  to  dinner — or  supper,  whichever  it 
ought  to  be  called." 

"  Oh,  has  Arthur  come  ?  "  says  Bell,  quite  calmly. 

"  So  it  appears,  my  dear,"  answers  Queen  Titania  ;  and 
as  she  utters  the  words,  she  finds  that  von  Rosen  has  come 
up  and  has  heard. 

"  All  right,"  he  says,  cheerfully.  "  It  will  be  a  pleasure 
to  have  a  visitor  at  dinner,  Madame,  will  it  not  ?  It  is  a 
pity  we  cannot  take  him  further  with  us  when  we  start  on 
Monday ;  but  I  suppose  he  has  come  on  business  to  Wor- 
cester ?  " 

The  Lieutenant  took  the  matter  very  coolly.  He  con- 
ducted Bell  and  Tita  upstairs  to  look  after  the  disposal  of 
their  effects ;  and  then  came  into  the  dining-room  to  see 
what  arrangements  had  been  made  about  dinner. 

"  If  he  behaves  himself,  that  is  very  well  and  good.  You 
must  treat  him  civilly.  But  if  not — if  he  is  foolish  and 
disagreeable,  why — 

The  Lieutenant  did  not  say  what  would  happen  then.  He 
bethought  himself  of  the  horses  ;  and  strode  away  down  into 
the  darkness  of  the  yard,  humming  lightly,  "  Miidele,  ruck, 
ruck,  ruck,  an  meine  grime  Seite  !  "  He  was  evidently  in 
no  warlike  mood. 


OF  A  PHAETON.  133 

CHAPTER  XI. 

SOME    WORCESTER    SAUCE. 

"  Faire  Emmeline  scant  had  ridden  a  mile, 

A  mile  forth  of  the  towne, 
When  she  was  aware  of  her  father's  men 
Come  galloping  over  the  downe : 

"  And  foremost  came  the  carlish  knight, 

Sir  John  of  the  north  countraye; 
'Nowe  stop,  nowe  stop,  thou  false  traitoure,          '"] 
Nor  carrye  that  ladye  awaye ! ' " 

"  MY  dear,"  I  say  to  Queen  Titania,  as  she  is  fastening 
a  rose  in  her  hair  before  going  down  to  dinner,  "pray 
remember  that  Arthur  Ashburton  is  'also  a  vertebrate 
animal.'  He  has  done  nothing  monstrous  or  inhuman  in 
paying  you  a  visit." 

u  Paying  me  a  visit  ?  "  says  Tita,  impatiently.  "  If  he 
had  come  to  see  me,  I  should  not  care.  But  you  know  that 
he  has  come  to  pick  a  quarrel  with  Bell  ;  and  that  she  is 
likely  to  grant  him  everything  he  asks  ;  and,  if  she  does 
not,  there  will  be  infinite  trouble  and  vexation.  I  consider 
it  most  provoking,  and  most  thoughtless  and  inconsiderate 
on  his  part,  to  thrust  himself  upon  us  in  this  way." 

"  And  yet,  after  all,"  I  say,  as  she  fastens  on  a  bracelet 
which  was  given  her  a. long  time  ago,  "is  there  anything 
more  natural  ?  A  young  man  is  in  love  with  a  young 
woman " 

"  It  is  his  own  fault,"  she  interposes. 

"  Perhaps.  So  much  the  worse.  He  ought  all  the  more 
to  have  your  compassion,  instead  of  your  indignant  scorn. 
"Well,  she  leaves  his  charming  society  to  go  off  on  a  wild 
rampage  through  the  country.  A  possible  rival  accompanies 
her.  The  young  man  is  torn  asunder  with  doubts  and  fears. 
He  writes  to  her.  She  does  not  answer.  His  anxiety 
becomes  a  madness  ;  and  forthwith  he  sets  off  in  pursuit 
of  her.  Is  there  anything  in  all  this  to  brand  him  as  an 
outcast  from  humanity  ?  " 

"  Why,  look  at  the  folly  of  it !  If  the  girl  had  proper 
spirit,  would  it  not  drive  her  into  refusing  him  alto- 
gether ?  " 


i34  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

"  Foolish,  my  dear,  yes  !  but  not  criminal.  Now  the 
whole  of  you  seem  to  look  on  Arthur  as  a  monster  of 
wickedness,  because  he  is  anxious  to  marry  the  girl  he  is 
fond  of." 

My  Lady  alters  the  disposition  of  the  thin  tracery  of 
silver  cord  which  runs  through  the  dark  masses  of  her  hair, 
and  as  she  thus  manages  to  shelve  the  subject,  she  says — 

"  I  suppose  we  shall  have  a  pleasant  time  at  dinner. 
Arthur  will  be  fiercely  amusing.  Plenty  of  sarcasm  going 
about.  Deadly  looks  of  hatred.  Jokes  as  heavy  as  that 
one  Bell  talks  of — that  was  carried  to  the  window  by  four 
men,  and  killed  a  policeman  when  it  tumbled  over." 

My  Lady  is  gently  reminded  that  this  story  was  told  of  a 
German,  before  the  date  of  Bell's  conversion  ;  whereupon 
she  answers  coolly — 

"  Oh,  I  do  not  suppose  that  Count  von  Rosen  is  like  all 
Germans.  I  think  he  is  quite  an  exception — a  very 
creditable  exception.  I  know  I  have  never  met  anyone  the 
least  like  him  before." 

"But  heroas  were  not  common  in  your  county,  were 
they  ?  " 

"  They  were  in  yours,"  says  Tita,  putting  her  arm  within 
mine,  and  speaking  with  the  most  gracious  sweetness  ;  "  and 
that  was  why  people  took  no  notice  of  you." 

We  go  downstairs.  At  the  head  of  the  large  dining-room, 
in  front  of  the  fireplace,  a  young  man  is  standing.  He  has 
a  time-table  in  his  hand,  which  he  is  pretending  to  read, 
and  his  hat  is  on  his  head.  He  hastily  removes  that  most 
important  part  of  an  Englishman's  attire,  when  my  Lady 
enters  the  room,  and  then  he  comes  forward  with  a  certain 
apprehension  and  embarrassed  look  on  his  face.  If  he  had 
been  growing  nervous  about  his  reception,  there  was  nothing, 
at  all  events,  to  be  feared  from  Queen  Titania,  who  would 
have  welcomed  the  *  *  *  himself  with  an  effusive  courtesy, 
if  only  she  had  regarded  it  as  her  duty. 

"  Oh,  Arthur,"  she  says,  her  whole  face  lighting  up  with 
a  gladness  which  amazed  even  one  who  was  accustomed  to 
watch  her  ways,  "  I  am  really  delighted  to  see  you.  How 
good  of  you  to  come  and  spend  the  evening  with  us  on  so 
short  a  notice.  I  hope  we  have  not  taken  you  away  from 
any  other  engagement  ?  " 


OF  A  PHAETON.  135 

"  No,"  says  the  young  man,  apparently  very  much 
touched  by  her  kindness,  "  and — and — it  is  I  who  ought  to 
apologise  for  breaking  in  on  you  like  this." 

"  Then  you  will  spend  to-morrow  with  us  also  ?  "  says 
my  Lady,  quite  pleasantly.  Indeed,  there  is  nothing  like 
facing  the  inevitable  with  a  good  grace. 

"  Yes,"  says  Arthur,  rather  humbly,  "  if  you  think  I'm 
not  intruding." 

"  Why,  your  coming  will  be  quite  a  relief  !  I  should 
never  have  forgiven  you  if  you  had  been  in  our  neighbour- 
hood without  coming  to  see  us." 

You  might  think  that  this  little  speech  was  of  the  nature 
of  a  fib.  But  it  was  not,  just  at  that  moment.  When 
people  are  absent,  Tita  is  about  as  cool,  and  accurate,  and 
severe  in  her  judgment  of  them  as  any  woman  can  be  ;  and 
she  is  not  disinclined  to  state  her  opinion.  But  once  they 
come  near  her — and  especially  if  she  has  to  play  the  part  of 
hostess,  and  entertain  them — the  natural  and  excessive 
kindness  of  the  woman  drives  her  into  the  most  curious 
freaks  of  unconscious  hypocrisy.  Half  an  hour  before  she 
had  been  talking  of  Arthur  in  a  way  that  would  have 
considerably  astonished  that  young  man,  if  he  had  known  ; 
and  had  been  looking  forward  with  dismay  and  vexation  to 
all  the  embarrassments  of  his  visit.  Now,  however,  that  he 
was  here — thrown  on  her  mercy  as  it  were — she  showed 
him  a  quite  inordinate  kindness,  and  that  in  the  most  honest 
way  in  the  world.  A  couple  of  minutes  sufficed  to  convince 
Arthur  that  he  had  at  least  one  firm  friend  in  our  house- 
hold. 

He  began  to  look  anxiously  towards  the  door.  Presently, 
a  voice  he  knew  pretty  well  was  heard  outside  ;  and  then — 
ominous  conjunction  ! — the  Lieutenant  and  Bell  entered 
together.  Yon  Rosen  had  held  the  door  open  for  his 
companion,  so  that.  Bell  advanced  first  towards  our  visitor. 
Her  face  was  quite  calm  and  a  trifle  reserved  ;  and  yet  every 
one  could  see  that  as  she  shook  hands  with  the  young  man, 
there  was  a  timid,  half-concealed  look  of  pleasure  and 
welcome  in  her  eyes.  He,  on  his  part,  was  gloomily 
ceremonious.  He  scarcely  took  any  notice  of  the  greeting 
which  the  Lieutenant  carelessly  addressed  to  him.  He 
accompanied  us  over  to  the  table,  and  took  a  seat  on  the 


136  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

right  hand  of  Tita,  with  a  silence  that  portended  evil.  We 
were  likely  to  have  a  pleasant  evening. 

Had  he  possessed  a  little  more  worldly  prudence  or  savoir 
faire,  he  would  now  have  made  some  light  excuse  for  his 
being  present.  He  ought,  for  form's  sake,  to  have  given  us 
to  understand  that,  as  he  was  obliged  to  be  in  Oxford,  he 
had  come  on  by  rail  to  pay  us  a  visit.  But  as  it  was,  no 
explanation  was  forthcoming.  Our  Apemantus  had  appa- 
rently dropped  from  the  skies.  He  looked  very  uncomfort- 
able ;  and  replied  in  monosyllables  to  the  various  and 
continuous  remarks  that  Tita  addressed  to  him.  He  had 
never  spoken  to  Bell,  who  sat  next  him,  and  who  was 
herself  silent.  Indeed,  the  constraint  and  embarrassment 
from  which  she  was  suffering  began  to  vex  the  Lieutenant, 
who  strove  in  vain  to  conquer  it  by  every  means  in  his 
power. 

The  barometer  steadily  fell.  The  atmosphere  grew  more 
and  more  gloomy,  until  a  storm  of  some  sort  was  inevitable. 
The  anxious  efforts  of  Queen  Tita  to  introduce  some  cheer- 
fulness were  touching  to  see  ;  and  as  for  Bell,  she  joined 
in  the  talk  about  our  journey,  and  what  we  had  seen,  in  a 
series  of  disconnected  observations  that  were  uttered  in  a 
low  and  timid  tone,  as  if  she  were  afraid  to  draw  down 
lightning  from  the  thunder-clouds.  Lieutenant  von  Rosen 
had  at  first  addressed  a  word  or  two  to  our  guest  ;  but 
finding  the  labour  not  productive,  he  had  dropped  him 
entirely  out  of  the  conversation.  Meanwhile  Arthur  had 
drunk  a  glass  or  two  of  sherry.  He  was  evidently  nettled 
at  finding  the  Lieutenant  almost  monopolizing  attention  ; 
for  Tita  herself  had  given  up  in  despair,  and  was  con- 
tent to  listen.  Yon  Rosen  was  speaking  as  usual  of  the 
differences  between  English  and  German  ways,  and  social 
aims,  and  what  not,  until  at  last  he  drifted  into  some  men- 
tion of  the  Republican  phenomena  that  had  recently  been 
manifested  in  this  country. 

Now  what  conceivable  connection  is  there  between  the 
irritation  of  an  anxious  lover  and  Republicanism  ?  Master 
Arthur  had  never  alarmed  any  of  us  by  professing  wild 
opinions  on  that  subject  or  on  any  other.  We  never  knew 
that  the  young  man  had  any  political  views,  beyond  a  sort  of 
nebulous  faith  in  the  Crown  and  the  Constitution.  Con- 


OF  A  PHAETON.  137 

sider,  therefore,  our  amazement  when,  at  this  moment,  he 
boldly  and  somewhat  scornfully  announced  himself  a  Demo- 
crat, and  informed  us  that  the  time  was  come  for  dismissing 
old  superstitions  and  destroying  the  last  monopolies  of 
feudalism.  There  would  be  a  heavy  account  to  settle  with 
the  aristocracy  that  had  for  generations  made  laws  to  secure 
its  own  interests,  and  tied  up  the  land  of  the  country  so 
that  an  idle  population  had  to  drift  into  the  big  towns  and 
become  paupers.  All  this  was  over.  New  times  were  at 
hand.  England  was  ripe  for  a  great  revolution  ;  and  woe 
to  them  that  tried  to  stem  the  tide  ! 

The  explanation  of  which  outburst  was  merely  this — that 
Arthur  was  so  angry  and  impatient  with  the  state  of  things 
immediately  around  him,  that  he  was  possessed  with  a  wild 
desire  to  upset  and  destroy  something.  And  there  is  nothing 
so  easy  to  upset  and  destroy,  in  rhetoric,  as  the  existing 
political  basis  of  the  country. 

Well,  we  looked  at  the  lad.  His  face  wTas  still  aglow ; 
and  there  was  something  of  triumph  as  well  as  of  fierceness 
in  it.  The  hero  of  the  old  Silesian  song,  when  his  sweet- 
heart has  forgotten  the  vows  she  made,  and  the  ring  she 
gave  him  is  broken  in  two,  would  like  to  rush  away  into 
battle,  and  sleep  by  camp-fires,  under  the  still  night.  But 
nothing  half  so  ordinary  would  do  for  our  fire-eater,  who, 
because  he  could  not  very  well  kill  a  Prussian  lieutenant, 
must  needs  attack  the  British  Crown.  Was  there  any  one 
of  us  four  inclined  to  resent  this  burst  of  sham  heroics  ? 
Was  there  not  in  it  something  of  the  desperation  of  wretched- 
ness that  was  far  more  entitled  to  awaken  compassion  ?  Had 
Arthur  been  less  in  love,  he  would  have  been  more  prudent. 
Had  he  controlled  his  emotions  in  that  admirable  fashion 
with  which  most  of  our  young  gentlemen  now-a-days  seem 
to  set  about  the  business  of  choosing  a  wife,  he  would  not 
have  made  himself  absurd.  There  was  something  almost 
pitiable  in  this  wild,  incoherent,  ridiculous  effort  of  a  young 
man  to  do  or  say  something  striking  and  picturesque  before 
the  eyes  of  a  girl  whose  affections  he  feared  wrere  drifting 
away  from  him. 

The  Lieutenant,  to  whom  this  outbreak  was  particularly 
addressed,  took  the  affair  very  good-naturedly.  He  said, 
with  a  smile — 


138  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

"  Do  you  know  who  will  be  the  most  disappointed,  if  you 
should  have  a  Republic  in  England  ?  Why,  the  Republicans 
that  are  very  anxious  for  it  just  now.  Perhaps  some  of  them 
are  very  respectable  men — yes,  I  believe  that  ;  but  if  I  am 
not  wrong,  the  men  who  make  the  great  fuss  about  it  in 
your  nation  are  not  like  that.  Agitators — is  not  that  what 
you  call  them  ?  And,  if  you  have  England  a  Republic,  do 
you  think  the  government  of  the  country  will  be  given  to 
those  noisy  persons  of  the  present  ?  No— that  is  not 
possible,  I  think.  When  the  Republic  comes,  if  it  does 
come  at  all — and  I  do  not  know  how  much  force  is  in  this 
demonstration — all  your  great  men,  your  well-educated  men, 
your  men  of  good  position  and  good  breeding  and  good 
feeling — they  will  all  come  forward,  as  they  do  now,  to  see 
that  the  country  is  properly  governed.  And  what  will 
become  of  the  present  Republicans,  who  are  angry  because 
they  cannot  get  into  Parliament,  and  who  wish  for  a  change 
that  they  may  become  great  persons  ?  When  you  take  away 
the  Crown,  they  will  not  all  be  kings,  I  think  :  there  is  too 
much  of  good  sense  in  this  country,  and  of  public  spirit, 
that  makes  your  best  men  give  up  their  own  comfort  to  look 
after  the  government — and  so  it  will  be  then." 

"  I  hope  there  will  be  no  violent  change  in  our  time,  at 
least,"  said  Queen  Tita. 

"  Madame  is  anxious  about  the  Church,  I  know,"  re- 
marked the  Lieutenant,  with  great  gravity ;  but  he  looked 
at  Bell,  and  Bell  could  not  altogether  conceal  a  smile. 
Arthur,  watching  them  both,  noticed  that  little  bit  of 
private  understanding  ;  and  the  gloom  on  his  face  visibly 
deepened. 

This  must  be  said,  however,  that  when  an  embarrassing 
evening  is  unavoidable,  a  dinner  is  the  best  method  of  tiding 
it  over.  The  various  small  incidents  of  the  feast  supply  any 
ominous  gaps  in  the  conversation  ;  and  there  is,  besides,  a 
thawing  influence  in  good  meat  and  drink  which  the  fiercest 
of  tempers  finds  it  hard  to  withstand.  After  the  ebullition 
about  Republicanism,  Arthur  had  quieted  somewhat.  By 
the  time  we  had  got  down  to  the  sweets,  and  perhaps  with 
the  aid  of  a  little  champagne — the  lad  never  drank  much  at 
any  time,  I  ought  to  say — his  anger  had  become  modified 
into  a  morose  and  sentimental  melancholy  ;  and  when  he 


OF  A  PHAETON.  139 

did  manage  to  speak  to  Bell,  he  addressed  her  iu  a  wistful 
and  pathetic  manner,  as  if  she  were  some  one  on  board  a 
vessel  and  he  saw  her  gradually  going  away  from  him,  her 
friends,  and  her  native  land.  One  little  revelation,  never- 
theless, comforted  him  greatly  ;  and  lovers  apt  to  magnify 
their  misfortunes  will  note  that  he  might  have  enjoyed  this 
solace  long  before  if  only  he  had  exercised  the  most  ordinary 
frankness. 

"  You  got  a  letter  I  sent  you  to  Oxford,  I  suppose  ?  "  he 
said,  with  a  studied  carelessness. 

"  Yes,"  said  Bell,  with  a  little  conscious  colour  in  her 
face,  as  she  bent  down  her  eyes. 

"  I  am  glad  I  had  the  chance  of  seeing  you  to-night,"  he 
continued,  with  the  same  effort  at  self-possession,  "  because 
I — I  fancied  you  might  be  unwell — or  some  accident  hap- 
pened— since  you  did  not  send  the  telegram  I  begged  of 
you." 

Here  an  awful  moment  of  silence  intervened.  Everybody 
trembled  for  Bell's  reply,  which  might  provoke  the  cata- 
strophe we  had  been  seeking  to  postpone. 

"  It  was  only  yesterday  morning  I  got  your  letter,"  Bell 
said,  apparently  feeling  the  silence  uncomfortable  ;  "  and — 
and  I  meant  to  have  answered  it  to-night " 

"  Oh,  you  were  going  to  answer  it  ?  "  he  asked,  with  his 
face  suddenly  getting  bright. 

"Yes,"  she  answered,  looking  up  with  some  surprise. 
"  You  did  not  suppose  I  wouldn't  answer  it  ?  " 

In  fact,  that  was  just  what  he  had  supposed,  considering 
that  she  had  been  grievously  offended  by  the  tone  of  his 
letter. 

"  I  meant  to  have  let  you  know  how  we  all  were,  and 
how  far  we  had  got,"  she  said,  conveying  an  intimation 
that  this  sort  of  letter  might  be  sent  by  anybody  to  any- 
body. 

Nevertheless,  Arthur  greatly  recovered  himself  after  this 
assurance.  She  had  not  broken  off  with  him,  after  all. 
He  explained  that  the  letter  must  have  been  delayed  on  the 
way,  or  she  would  have  got  it  the  day  before.  He  drank 
another  glass  of  champagne,  and  said,  with  a  laugh,  that  he 
had  meditated  surprising  us,  but  that  the  design  had  failed, 
for  everyone  seemed  to  have  expected  him. 


i4o  TJfJS  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

"  I  only  came  down  this  afternoon  ;  and  I  suppose  I 
must  go  back  on  Monday,"  he  remarked,  ruefully. 

This  looked  so  very  like  a  request  for  an  invitation  that 
I  was  bound  to  offer  him  a  seat  in  the  phaeton,  if  he  did 
not  mind  a  little  discomfort.  You  should  have  seen  the 
look  of  amazement  and  indignation  which  my  Lady  darted 
across  the  table  at  this  moment.  Fortunately,  Arthur  did 
not  notice  it.  He  said  he  was  very  much  obliged — he 
feared  he  would  have  to  return — if  he  went  with  us  for  a 
day  or  two,  he  would  inconvenience  us  sadly — but  he  would 
consider  it  before  Monday  morning. 

After  dinner,  von  Rosen  got  up  and  proposed  that  he  and 
I  should  go  down  to  the  billiard-room — which  is  in  the  end 
of  the  building  abutting  on  the  stable-yard — and  smoke 
a  cigar.  Surely  generosity  could  go  no  further.  Arthur 
looked  surprised ;  and  wore  quite  a  pleasant  smile  on  his 
face  when  we  rose  and  left. 

But  perhaps  it  was  merely  selfishness  that  caused  our 
Uhlan  to  leave  the  field  ;  for  as  we  two  went  down  the 
passage,  and  made  our  way  up  to  the  spacious  room  he 
said — 

"  I  am  rather  sorry  for  Mademoiselle.  She  does  not  seem 
to  be  very  glad  to  meet  her  old  friend — perhaps  because  he 
is  not  in  a  good  temper.  That  is  why  I  did  say  we  should 
go  and  play  billiards — there  will  be  a  chance  of  an  explana- 
tion— and  to-morrow  he  will  be  all  right.  It  is  foolish  of 
him  to  be  disagreeable.  All  this  time  of  dinner,  I  wras 
thinking  to  myself  how  well  he  might  make  himself 
agreeable  if  he  only  wished — with  knowing  all  the  polite 
phrases  with  ease,  and  being  able  to  talk  without  thinking. 
For  me,  that  is  different,  you  know.  I  am  bound  in  by 
stupid  limits  ;  and  when  I  think  to  say  something  nice  to 
anyone — then  I  stop  because  I  know  nothing  of  the  words — 
just  like  at  a  wall." 

He  sent  the  red  ball  up  and  down  the  table  in  rather  a 
peevish  manner  ;  he  felt  that  Arthur  had  an  advantage, 
perhaps. 

"  But  you  talk  English  remarkably  well." 

"  But  I  have  remarked  that  you  English  always  say  that  to 
a  foreigner,  and  will  not  tell  him  when  he  is  wrong.  I  know 
I  am  often  wrong— and  always  about  your  past  tenses — your 


OF  A  PHAETON.  141 

*  was  loving '  and  '-did  love?  and  '  loved '  and  like  that ;  and 
I  believe  I  am  very  wrong  with  always  saying  '  do '  and 

*  did?  for  I  studied  to  give  myself  free  speaking  English 
many  years  ago,  and  the  book  I  studied  was  '  Pepys'  Diary,' 
because  it  is  all  written  in  the  first  person,  and  by  a  man  of 
good  station.      Now  I  find  you  do  not  say  '  I  did  think? 
but  '  /  thought?  only  it  is  very  hard  to  remember.    And  as 
for  pronunciation,  I  know  I  am  very  wrong." 

Well,  he  had  certainly  marked  forms  of  pronunciation, 
which  I  have  considered  it  unnecessary  to  reproduce  in 
recording  his  talk.  He  said  '/  hef  for  '/  have?  and  'a 
goot  shawt  'for  '  a  good  shot.1  He  also  made  occasional 
blunders  in  accent,  through  adopting  the  accent  of  the  Latin 
word  from  which  the  English  word  is  derived.  But  what 
were  such  trifles  to  the  main  fact  that  he  could  make 
himself  well  understood  ? 

"  But  this  is  very  strange,"  he  said  ;  "  how  much  more 
clearly  Mademoiselle  speaks  than  any  English  lady,  or  any 
English  person  I  have  known  yet.  It  is  very  remarkable  to 
me,  how  I  have  great  difficulty  to  follow  people  who  talk 
like  as  if  they  had  several  tongues  rolling  in  their  mouth — 
and  others  speak  very  fast — and  others  let  the  ends  of  the 
words  slide  away  ;  but  Miss  Bell,  she  is  always  clear,  distinct, 
and  very  pleasant  to  hear  ;  and  then  she  never  speaks  very 
loud,  as  most  of  your  people  do  to  a  foreigner." 

"  Perhaps,"  I  observed,  "  there  is  a  reason  for  Bell's 
clearness  of  speech."  . 

"  Why  ?  " 

"  Perhaps  she  takes  pains  to  be  very  distinct  in  talking  to 
you,  while  she  manages  not  to  shoAV  it.  Perhaps  other 
people  can  notice  that  she  speaks  with  a  little  more 
deliberation  to  you  than  to  anyone  else." 

Yon  Eosen  was  obviously  much  struck. 

"  Is  that  possible  ?  "  he  said,  with  his  eyes  full  of  wonder. 
"  I  have  not  noticed  that  she  did  talk  slow  to  me." 

"  No — she  conceals  it  admirably  ;  but  all  the  same  such 
is  the  fact.  It  is  not  so  much  slowness  as  a  sort  of  careful 
precision  of  pronunciation  that  she  affects — and  you  ought 
to  be  very  grateful  for  such  consideration." 

"  Oh,  I  think  it  is  very  good  of  her — very  good  indeed — 
and  I  would  thank  her  for  it " 


H2  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

"No  ;  don't  do  that,  or  you  will  have  no  more  of  it. 
And  at  present  my  Lady  is  catching  up  a  trick  of  talking 
in  the  same  way." 

"  It  is  very  kind,"  said  the  Lieutenant,  turning  to  the 
table  with  rather  a  thoughtful  manner.  "  You  would  not 
have  expected  a  young  girl  like  that  to  be  so  reflective  of 
other  people." 

Then  he  broke  the  balls  ;  and  by  fair  strength  of  arm 
screwed  the  white  into  the  corner  pocket.  Nobody  was 
more  astonished  than  himself,  except  the  marker.  It  was, 
indeed,  the  first  losing  hazard  he  had  ever  made,  he  never 
having  played  before  on  a  table  with  pockets.  His  next 
stroke  was  not  so  successful ;  and  so  he  consoled  himself 
with  lighting  a  Partagas  about  eight  inches  in  length. 

"  At  all  events,"  he  continued,  "  your  language  has  not 
the  difference  of  '  Sie '  and '  duj  which  is  a  great  advantage. 
Oh,  it  is  a  very  perplexing  thing  sometimes.  Suppose  you 
do  know  a  young  lady  very  well,  and  you  have  agreed  with 
her  in  private  you  shall  always  call  each  other  '  du ; '  and 
then  before  other  people  you  call  her  '  Sie ' — it  is  very  hard 
not  to  call  her  '  duj  by  mistake,  and  then  everyone  jumps 
up,  and  stares  at  you,  and  all  the  secret  is  known.  That  is 
a  very  terrible  thing." 

"  And  please  what  is  the  interesting  ceremony  with  which 
you  drink  briiderschaft  with  a  young  lady  ?  The  same  as 
usual  ? — a  large  jug  of  beer — your  arms  intertwined " 

" No — no — no  !  "  he  cried.  "It  is  all  a  mystery.  You 
shall  not  know  anything  of  that.  But  it  is  very  good — it 
is  a  very  pleasant  thing — to  have  ~brudersclwft  with  a  young 
lady — although  you  drink  no  beer,  and  have  no  ceremonies 
about  it." 

"  And  what  did  Fraulein  Fallersleben's  mamma  say  when 
you  called  her  daughter  '  du  '  by  mistake  ?  " 

The  large  empty  room  resounded  with  the  Lieutenant's 
laughter. 

"  That  is  a  good  guess — oh  !  a  very  good  guess — but  not 
just  good  enough.  For  it  was  she  who  did  call  me  '  du  ; ' 
and  all  the  people  were  surprised — and  then  some  did  laugh 
— but  she  herself — oh  !  she  was  very  angry  with  herself,  and 
with  me  too,  and  for  some  time  she  called  me  '  Sie '  even 
when  we  were  together,  until  it  was  likely  to  be  a  quarrel. 


OF  A  PHAETON.  143 

But  one  more  quarrel,"  added  the  Lieutenant,  with  in- 
difference, "was  not  much  matter.  It  was  usually  one 
every  day — and  then  writing  of  sorrowful  letters  at  the 
night — and  next  morning  some  reconciliation — SacJcerment  I 
what  is  the  use  of  talking  of  all  that  nonsense  ?  " 

And  then  once  more  the  ball  flew  about  the  table  ;  finally 
lodging  in  a  pocket,  and  scoring  three  for  a  miss.  Indeed, 
our  Uhlan  was  not  at  home  with  our  big  English  tables, 
their  small  balls,  pointed  cues,  and  perpetual  pockets.  Even 
when  he  got  a  good  chance  of  a  cannon,  the  smallness  of 
the  balls  caused  him  to  fail  entirely.  But  he  had  a  very 
excellent  cigar.  It  was  something  to  be  away  from  the 
embarrassment  that  had  prevailed  at  dinner.  Perhaps,  too, 
he  enjoyed  a  certain  sense  of  austere  self-satisfaction  in 
having  left  to  Arthur  full  possession  of  the  field.  On  the 
whole  he  enjoyed  himself  very  well  ;  and  then,  our  cigars 
being  finished,  we  had  a  final  look  at  the  horses,  and 
eventually  returned  to  the  coffee-room. 

"  I  am  afraid,"  said  von  Kosen,  with  some  alarm,  "  we 
have  been  negligent  of  our  duties." 

Master  Arthur  had  left  some  half-hour  before.  The 
ladies  had  retired.  Only  one  or  two  of  the  heaviest  topers 
were  left  in  the  bar-parlour  ;  the  waiters  looked  as  if  they 
considered  their  week's  work  fairly  over. 

"  Tell  me,"  said  my  Prussian  friend,  as  he  got  his  candle, 
"  is  that  young  gentleman  corning  round  here  to-morrow  ?  " 

"  Probably  he  is." 

"  Do  you  not  think,  then,  it  would  be  good  to  hire  a 
vehicle  and  go  away  somewhere  for  a  drive  all  the  day 
before  he  comes  ?  " 

"  To-morrow  is  Sunday." 

"Well?" 

"  Do  you  fancy  you  would  get  either  Bell  or  my  Lady  to 
go  driving  on  Sunday  ?  Don't  you  propose  such  a  thing, 
if  you  are  wise  !  There  is  a  Cathedral  in  this  town  ;  and 
the  best  thing  you  can  do  is  to  study  its  history  and  associa- 
tions early  in  the  morning.  You  will  have  plenty  of  time 
to  think  over  them  to-morrow,  inside  the  building  itself." 

"  Oh,  I  do  not  object  to  that,"  he  remarked,  coolly,  as  he 
went  upstairs  ;  "  and  I  do  not  care  to  have  too  much  driving 
—it  is  only  to  prevent  Mademoiselle  being  annoyed,  as  I 


144  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

think  she  was  at  dinner  this  evening — that  is  all.  I  suppose 
we  may  go  for  a  walk  to-morrow  after  the  church-time  ? 
And  he  will  come  ?  Very  well,  he  will  not  harm  me,  I  am 
sure  ;  but — but  it  is  a  pity — that  is  all." 

And  with    this    somewhat    mysterious    conclusion,  the 
Lieutenant  disappeared  towards  his  own  room. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

THE   BIVALS. 

"  When  on  the  gentle  Severn's  sedgy  bank, 
In  single  opposition,  hand  to  hand, 
He  did  confound  the  best  part  of  an  hour 
In  changing  hardiment  with  great  Glendower." 

"  IP  we  could  only  get  over  this  one  day  " — that  was  the 
burden  of  Queen  Tita's  sorrow  the  next  morning.  Arthur 
had  been  invited  to  breakfast,  and  had  declined  ;  but  he 
was  coming  round  to  go  with  us  to  the  Cathedral.  There- 
after, everything  to  Tita's  mind  was  chaos.  She  dared 
hardly  think  of  what  the  day  might  bring  forth.  In  vain 
I  pointed  out  to  her  that  this  day  was  but  as  another  day  ; 
and  that  if  any  deeds  of  wrath  or  vengeance  were  hidden 
away  in  the  vague  intentions  of  our  young  friend  from 
Twickenham,  there  was  no  particular  safety  gained  in 
tiding  over  a  single  Sunday. 

"  At  all  events,"  says  my  Lady,  firmly,  "  you  cannot  do 
anything  so  imprudent  as  press  him  to  accompany  us  further 
on  our  journey." 

"  Cannot  the  phaeton  hold  five  ?  " 

"  You  knoAV  it  cannot,  comfortably.  But  that  is  not 
the  question.  For  my  own  part,  I  don't  choose  to  have  a 
holiday  spoilt  by  provoking  a  series  of  painful  scenes,  which 
I  know  will  occur.  We  may  manage  to  humour  him  to- 
day, and  get  him  to  leave  us  in  an  amiable  mood  ;  but  it 
would  be  impossible  to  do  it  two  days  running.  And  I  am 
not  sure  even  about  this  one  day." 

"But  what  prevents  his  dropping  down  on  us  at  any 
time — say  at  Shrewsbury — or  Chester— or  Carlisle — just  as 
he  has  done  here  at  Worcester  ?  " 

"I  will." 


OP  A  PHAETON.  145 

That  was  enough.  Having  some  regard  for  the  young- 
man,  I  hoped  he  would  submit  quietly.  But  lovers  are 
headstrong  ;  and  jealousy,  when  it  is  thoroughly  aroused, 
leaves  no  place  in  the  mind  for  fear. 

It  was  a  bright  morning.  We  could  see,  through  the 
wire  screens  of  the  windows,  the  Worcester  folks  walking 
along  the  pavements  with  the  sunlight  shining  on  their 
Sunday  finery. 

The  Lieutenant,  as  we  hurriedly  despatched  breakfast — • 
for  we  were  rather  late — gave  us  his  usual  report. 

"  A  very  fine  town,"  he  said,  addressing  himself  chiefly 
to  Tita,  who  was  always  much  interested  in  his  morning 
rambles,  "  with  old  religious  buildings,  and  houses  with  ivy, 
and  high  walls  to  keep  back  the  river.  There  is  a  large 
race-course,  too,  by  the  river  ;  and  on  the  other  side  a  fine 
suburb,  built  on  a  high  bank,  among  trees.  There  are 
many  pleasant  walks  by  the  Severn,  when  you  get  further 
down  ;  but  I  will  show  you  all  the  place  when  we  go  out 
of  the  Cathedral.  This  is  a  great  day  at  the  Cathedral, 
they  say — a  Chief  Sheriff  of  the  county,  I  think  they  call 
him,  is  living  at  this  hotel,  and  he  is  going  ;  and  you  see 
those  people  ? — they  are  loitering  about  to  see  him  drive 
away." 

Even  as  he  spoke,  two  resplendent  creatures  in  grey  and 
gold,  resembling  beef-eaters  toned  down  in  colour  and 
gilded,  advanced  to  the  archway  of  the  hotel,  with  long 
trumpets  in  their  hands.  These  they  suddenly  lifted,  and 
then  down  the  quiet  street  sounded  a  loud  fanfare,  which 
was  very  much  like  those  announcements  that  tell  us,  in  an 
historical  play,  that  the  King  approaches.  Then  a  vehicle 
drove  away  from  the  door  ;  the  High  Sheriff  had  gone  to 
the  Cathedral ;  while  our  breakfast  was  not  even  yet 
finished. 

"  He  does  not  have  the  trumpets  sounded  every  time  he 
leaves  the  hotel  ?  "  said  the  Lieutenant,  returning  from  the 
window.  "  Then  why  when  he  goes  to  church  ?  Is  it 
exceptional  for  a  High  Sheriff  to  go  to  church,  that  he  calls 
attention  to  it  with  trumpets  ?  " 

At  this  moment,  Arthur  entered  the  room.  He  glanced 
at  us  all  rather  nervously.  There  was  less  complaisance, 
too,  in  his  manner,  than  when  we  last  saw  him  ;  the  sooth- 

L 


146  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

ing  influences  of  dinner  had  departed.  He  sainted  us  all  in 
a  somewhat  cool  way,  and  then  addressed  himself  exclusively 
to  my  Lady.  For  Bell  he  had  scarcely  a  word. 

It  is  hard  to  say  how  Queen  Tita  managed,  as  we  left  the 
hotel,  to  attach  Bell  and  herself  to  Master  Arthur  ;  but 
such  was  the  result  of  her  dexterous  manoeuvres  ;  and  in 
this  fashion  we  hurriedly  walked  along  to  the  Cathedral. 
There  was  a  great  commotion  visible  around  the  majestic 
building.  A  considerable  crowd  had  collected  to  see  the 
High  Sheriff ;  and  policemen  were  keeping  a  lane  for  those 
who  wished  to  enter.  Seeing  that  we  were  late,  and  that 
the  High  Sheriff  was  sure  to  draw  many  after  him,  we 
scarcely  expected  to  get  inside  ;  but  that,  at  least,  was 
vouchsafed  us  ;  and  presently  we  found  ourselves  stepping 
quietly  over  the  stone  flooring.  All  the  seats  in  the  body 
of  the  Cathedral  being  occupied,  we  took  up  a  position  by 
one  of  the  great  pillars,  and  there  were  confronted  by  a 
scene  sufficiently  impressive  to  those  of  us  who  had  been 
accustomed  to  the  ministrations  of  a  small  parish  church. 

Far  away  before  us  rose  the  tall  and  graceful  lines  of  the 
architecture,  until,  in  the  distance,  they  were  lost  in  a  haze 
of  sunlight  streaming  in  from  the  south — a  glow  of  golden 
mist  that  struck  upon  the  northern  pillars,  throwing  up  a 
vague  reflection  that  showed  us  something  of  the  airy  region 
in  which  the  lines  of  the  great  arches  met.  We  could  catch 
a  glimpse,  too,  of  the  white-dressed  choir,  beyond  the  sombre 
mass  of  the  people  that  filled  the  nave.  And  when  the 
hushed,  deep  tones  of  the  organ  prelude  had  ceased  to 
sound  along  the  lofty  aisles,  there  rose  the  distant  and 
plaintive  chanting  of  the  boys  ;  then  the  richer  tones  of  the 
bass  came  in  ;  and  then  again  burst  forth  that  clear,  sweet, 
triumphant  treble,  that  seemed  to  be  but  a  single  voice 
ringing  softly  and  distantly  through  the  vast  building.  I 
knew  what  would  occur  then.  Somehow  Tita  managed  to 
slip  away  from  us,  and  get  into  the  shadow  of  the  pillar, 
with  her  head  bent  down,  and  her  hand  clasped  in  Bell's  ; 
and  the  girl  stood  so  that  no  one  should  see  her  friend's 
face,  for  there  were  tears  running  fast  down  it.  It  is  a  sad 
story,  that  has  been  already  briefly  mentioned  in  these 
memoranda.  Many  years  ago  she  lost  a  young  brother,  to 
whom  she  was  deeply  attached.  He  used  to  sing  in  the 


OF  A  PHAETON.  14? 

choir  of  the  village  church.  Now,  whenever  she  listens  to 
a  choir  singing  that  she  cannot  see,  nothing  will  convince 
her  that  she  does  not  hear  the  voice  of  her  brother  in  the 
clear,  distant  music  ;  and  more  than  once  it  has  happened 
that  the  uncontrollable  emotions  caused  by  this  wild 
superstition  have  thoroughly  unnerved  her.  For  days  after, 
she  has  been  haunted  by  the  sound  of  that  voice,  as  if  it 
had  brought  her  a  message  from  the  other  world — as  if  she 
had  been  nearly  vouchsafed  a  vision  that  had  been  somehow 
snatched  away  from  her,  leaving  behind  an  inexplicable 
longing  and  unrest.  Partly  on  that  account,  and  partly  by 
reason  of  the  weariness  produced  by  constant  standing,  we 
were  not  sorry  to  steal  out  of  the  Cathedral  when  the  first 
portion  of  the  service  was  over  ;  and  so  we  found  ourselves 
once  more  in  the  sweet  air  and  the  sunlight. 

There  was  an  awkward  pause.  Tita  rather  fell  behind, 
and  endeavoured  to  keep  herself  out  of  sight ;  while  the 
other  members  of  the  party  seemed  uncertain  as  to  how  they 
should  attach  themselves.  Fortunately,  our  first  movement 
was  to  go  round  and  inspect  the  curious  remains  of  the  old 
Cathedral,  which  are  yet  visible  ;  and  as  these  were  close 
at  hand,  we  started  off  in  a  promiscuous  manner,  and  got 
round  and  under  King  Edgar's  tower  without  any  open 
rupture. 

How  still  and  quiet  lay  the  neighbourhood  of  the  great 
church  on  this  beautiful  Sunday  morning  !  It  seemed  as  if 
all  the  life  of  the  place  were  gathered  within  that  noble 
building  ;  while  out  here  the  winds  from  over  the  meadows, 
and  the  sunlight,  and  the  fleecy  clouds  overhead,  were  left 
to  play  about  the  strange  old  passages,  and  sunken  arches, 
and  massive  gateways,  and  other  relics  of  former  centuries. 
The  bright  light  that  lay  warm  on  the  fresh  grass,  and  on  the 
ivied  walls  about,  lit  up  the  flaky  red  surface  of  the  ancient 
tower,  and  showed  us  the  bruised  effigy  of  King  Edgar  in 
sharp  outline  ;  while  through  the  gloom  of  the  archway  we 
could  see  beyond  the  shimmering  green  of  a  mass  of  elms, 
with  their  leaves  moving  in  the  sun.  From  thence  we 
passed  down  to  the  river  wall,  where  the  Lieutenant  read 
aloud  the  following  legend  inscribed  near  the  gate  : — "  On 
the  18th  of  November,  1770,  the  Flood  rose  to  the  lower 
edge  of  this  Brass  Plate,  being  ten  inches  higher  than  the 

L  2 


148  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

Flood  which  happen'd  on  December  23,  1672."  And  then 
we  went  through  the  arch,  and  found  ourselves  on  the  banks 
of  the  Severn,  with  its  bridges,  and  boats,  and  locks,  and 
fair  green  meadows,  all  as  bright  and  as  cheerful  as  sunlight 
could  make  them. 

Tita  and  myself,  I  know,  would  at  this  moment  have 
given  a  good  deal  to  get  away  from  these  young  folks  and 
their  affairs.  What  business  of  ours  was  it  that  there 
should  be  a  "  third  wheel  to  the  cart,"  as  the  Germans  say  ? 
Arthur  was  sadly  out  of  place  ;  but  how  could  we  help  it  ? 
My  Lady  having  fallen  rather  behind  as  we  started  on  our 
leisurely  stroll  along  the  river,  Bell,  the  Lieutenant,  and 
Arthur  were  forced  to  precede  us.  The  poor  girl  was 
almost  silent  between  them.  Yon  Kosen  was  pointing  out 
the  various  objects  along  the  stream  ;  Arthur,  in  no  amiable 
mood,  throwing  in  an  occasional  sarcastic  comment.  Then 
more  silence.  Arthur  breaks  away  from  them,  and  honours 
us  with  his  company.  Sometimes  he  listens  to  what  my 
Lady  says  to  him ;  but  more  often  he  does  not,  and  only 
scowls  at  the  two  young  folks  in  front.  He  makes  irrelevant 
replies.  There  is  a  fierceness  in  his  look.  I  think  at  this 
moment  he  would  have  been  glad  to  have  embraced  Mor- 
monism,  or  avowed  his  belief  in  Strauss,  or  done  anything 
else  desperate  and  wicked. 

Why,  it  was  natural  to  ask,  should  this  gentle  little  woman 
by  my  side  be  vexed  by  these  evil  humours  and  perversities — 
her  vexation  taking  the  form  of  a  profound  compassion,  and 
a  desire  that  she  could  secure  the  happiness  of  everybody  ? 
The  morning  was  a  miracle  of  freshness.  The  banks  of  the 
Severn,  once  you  leave  Worcester,  are  singularly  beautiful. 
Before  us  were  islands,  set  amid  tall  river  weeds,  and  covered 
with  thick  growths  of  bushes.  A  grey  shimmering  of 
willows  came  in  as  a  line  between  the  bold  blue  of  the 
stream  and  the  paler  blue  and  white  of  the  sky.  Some  lofty 
poplars  stood  sharp  and  black  against  the  light  green  of  the 
meadows  behind ;  and  far  away  these  level  and  sunlit 
meadows  stretched  over  to  Malvern  Chase  and  to  the  thin 
line  of  azure  hill  along  the  horizon.  Then  the  various 
boats — a  group  of  richly-coloured  cattle  in  the  fields — a  few 
boys  bathing  under  the  shadow  of  a  great  bank  of  yellow 
sand— all  went  to  make  up  as  bright  and  pretty  a  river- 


OF  A  PHAETON.  149 

picture  as  one  could  wish  for.  And  here  we  were  almost 
afraid  to  speak,  lest  an  incautious  word  should  summon  up 
thunder-clouds  and  provoke  an  explosion. 

"  Have  you  any  idea  when  you  will  reach  Scotland  ?  " 
says  Arthur,  still  glaring  at  the  Lieutenant  and  his 
companion. 

"  No,"  replies  Tita  ;  "  we  are  in  no  hurry." 

"  Won't  you  get  tired  of  this  driving  ?  " 

"  I  don't  think  so  at  all.     But  if  we  do,  we  can  stop." 

"  You  will  go  through  the  Lake  country,  of  course  ?  " 

"  Yes." 

"  It  is  sure  to  be  wTet  there,"  observes  the  young  man. 

"You  don't  give  us  much  encouragement,"  says  my  Lady, 
gently. 

"  Oh,"  he  replies,  "  if  people  break  away  from  the 
ordinary  methods  of  enjoying  a  holiday,  of  course  they  must 
take  their  chance.  In  Scotland  you  are  sure  to  have  bad 
weather.  It  always  rains  there." 

Arthur  was  determined  that  we  should  look  upon  the 
future  stages  of  our  journey  with  the  most  agreeable 
anticipations. 

"  Then,"  he  says,  "  suppose  your  horses  break  down  ?  " 

"They  won't,"  says  Tita,  with  a  smile.  "They  know 
they  are  going  to  the  land  of  oats.  They  will  be  in 
excellent  spirits  all  the  way." 

Master  Arthur  went  on  to  add — 

"  I  have  always  found  that  the  worst  of  driving  about 
with  people  was  that  it  threw  you  so  completely  on  the 
society  of  certain  persons  ;  and  you  are  bound  to  quarrel 
with  them." 

"  That  has  not  been  our  experience,"  answered  my  Lady, 
with  that  gracious  manner  of  hers  which  means  much. 

Of  course  she  would  not  admit  that  her  playful  skirmishes 
with  the  person  whom,  above  all  others,  she  ought  to 
respect,  could  be  regarded  as  real  quarrels.  But  at  this 
point  the  Lieutenant  lingered  for  a  moment  to  ask  my  Lady 
a  question ;  and  as  Bell  also  stopped  and  turned,  Tita  said 
to  him,  with  an  air  of  infinite  amusement — 

"  We  have  not  quarrelled  yet,  Count  von  Rosen  ?  " 

"  I  hope  not,  Madame,"  replied  our  Uhlan,  respectfully. 

"  Because,"  she  continued,  with  a  little  laugh,  "  Arthur 


i$o  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

thinks  we  are  sure  to  disagree,  merely  on  account  of  our 
being  thrown  so  much  into  each  other's  company." 

"I  think  quite  the  opposite  will  be  the  result  of  our 
society,"  said  the  Lieutenant,  promptly. 

"  Of  course  I  did  not  refer  particularly  to  you,"  said 
Arthur,  coldly.  "  There  are  some  men  so  happily  con- 
stituted that  it  is  of  no  consequence  to  them  how  they  are 
regarded  by  their  companions.  Of  course  they  are  always 
well  satisfied." 

"  And  it  is  a  very  good  thing  to  be  well  satisfied,"  answered 
the  Lieutenant,  cheerfully  enough,  "  and  much  better  than 
to  be  ill  satisfied  and  of  much  trouble  to  your  friends.  I 
think,  sir,  when  you  are  as  old  as  I,  and  have  been  over  the 
world  as  much,  you  will  think  more  of  the  men  who  are 
well  satisfied." 

"  I  hope  my  experience  of  the  world,"  said  Arthur,  with  a 
certain  determination  in  his  tone,  "  will  not  be  gained  by 
receiving  pay  to  be  sent  to  invade  a  foreign  country — 

"  Oh,  Count  von  Eosen,"  says  Bell,  to  call  his  attention. 

"  Mademoiselle  !  "  he  says,  turning  instantly  towards  her, 
although  he  had  heard  every  word  of  Arthur's  speech. 

"  Can  you  tell  me  the  German  name  of  that  tall  pink 
flower  down  by  the  edge  of  the  water  ?" 

And  so  they  walked  on  once  more ;  and  we  got  further 
away  from  the  city — with  its  mass  of  slates  and  spires 
getting  faint  in  the  haze  of  the  sunlight — and  into  the  still 
greenness  of  the  country,  where  the  path  by  the  river-side 
lay  through  deep  meadows. 

It  was  hard,  after  all.  He  had  come  from  London  to  get 
speech  of  his  sweetheart,  and  he  found  her  walking  through 
green  meadows  with  somebody  else.  No  mortal  man — and 
least  of  all  a  young  fellow  not  confident  of  his  own  position, 
and  inclined  to  be  rather  nervous  and  anxious — could  suffer 
this  with  equanimity ;  but  then  it  was  a  question  how  far 
it  was  his  own  fault. 

"  Why  don't  you  go  and  talk  to  Bell  ?  "  said  my  Lady  to 
him,  in  a  low  voice. 

"  Oh,  I  don't  care  to  thrust  my  society  on  anyone,"  he 
said  aloud,  with  an  assumption  of  indifference.  "  There  are 
people  who  do  not  know  the  difference  between  an  old 
and  a  new  acquaintance — I  do  not  seek  to 


OF  A  PHAETON.  151 

interfere  with  their  tastes.  But  of  course  there  is  a  meaning 
in  everything.  What  are  those  lines  of  Pope's — 

0  say,  what  stranger  cause,  yet  unexplored, 
Could  make  a  gentle  belle  reject  a  lord  ? ' 

I  should  not  attempt  to  cure  a  woman  of  her  instinctive 
liking  for  a  title." 

Tita  placed  her  hand  on  his  arm.  After  all,  this  excited 
young  man  was  an  old  friend  of  hers  ;  and  it  seemed  a  pity 
to  see  him  thus  determined  to  ruin  his  own  cause.  But  the 
light  talking  we  heard  in  front  seemed  to  say  that  the 
"  gentle  Belle  "  had  not  overheard  that  pretty  speech  and  its 
interesting  quotation. 

At  length,  coming  to  a  sudden  bend  in  the  river,  the 
Lieutenant  and  his  companion  proposed  that  we  should  rest 
a  while  ;  and  accordingly  we  chose  out  comfortable  seats 
on  the  steep  green  bank,  covered  by  bushes  and  trees,  which 
here  slopes  down  to  the  stream.  The  picture  that  lay  before 
and  around  us  was  sufficient  to  have  calmed  the  various 
moods  and  passions  of  these  young  folks,  if  they  had  but  had 
eyes  for  anything  but  their  own  affairs.  Bell  was  the  only 
one  who  paid  attention  to  the  world  of  bright  colours  that 
lay  around.  The  Lieutenant — imperturbable,  easy  in  manner, 
and  very  attentive  to  her — was  nevertheless  obviously  on 
the  watch,  and  certain  to  resent  any  remark  that  might  by 
chance  miss  him  and  glance  by  towards  her.  Certainly,  these 
were  not  comfortable  conditions  for  a  pleasant  walk.  Tita 
afterwards  declared  that  she  was  calculating  with  satisfac- 
tion that  she  had  already  got  through  several  hours  of  that 
terrible  day. 

The  sun  was  shining  far  away  on  the  blue  Malvern  hills. 
Along  the  level  meadows  the  lines  of  pollard  willows  were 
grey  and  silvery  in  the  breezy  light.  Nearer  at  hand  the  rich 
masses  of  green  were  broken  by  the  red  sandstone  bank 
opposite ;  while  the  tall  trees  above  sent  straggling 
duplicates  of  themselves — coloured  in  deep  chocolate-brown 
— down  into  the  lazy  current  that  flowed  beneath  us.  And 
as  we  sat  there  and  listened  for  the  first  ominous  observation 
of  one  or  another  of  these  young  folks,  lo  !  there  glided  into 
the  clear  white  and  blue  channel  of  the  river  a  gaily-bedizened 
barge  that  gleamed  and  glittered  in  the  sunlight  and  sent 


152  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

quivering  lines  of  colour  on  to  the  water.  The  horse  came 
slowly  along  the  road.  The  long  rope  rustled  over  the 
brushwood  on  the  bank,  and  splashed  on  the  surface  of  the 
stream.  The  orange  and  scarlet  bands  of  the  barge  stole 
away  up  and  through  the  world  of  soft  greenness  that  lay 
under  the  shadow  of  the  opposite  bank  ;  and  then  the  horse, 
and  rope,  and  driver  turned  the  corner  of  a  field,  and  we  saw 
them  no  more. 

The  appearance  of  the  barge  had  provoked  attention,  and 
secured  silence.  When  it  was  gone  the  Lieutenant  turned 
carelessly  to  Arthur,  and  said — 

"  Do  you  go  back  to  London  to-morrow  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know,"  said  the  young  man,  gloomily. 

"  It  is  such  a  pity  you  can't  come  with  us,  Arthur,"  said 
Bell,  very  gently,  as  if  begging  for  a  civil  reply. 

"  I  have  no  doubt  you  will  enjoy  yourselves  very  well,"  he 
replied,  with  a  certain  coldness  in  his  tone. 

"  We  have  hitherto,"  she  said,  looking  down.  "  The 
weather  has  been  so  good — and — and  the  scenery  so  delight- 
ful— and — and — 

It  was  Arthur  himself,  singularly  enough,  who  came  to  the 
rescue,  little  knowing  that  he  was  affording  her  such  relief. 

"  I  don't  think  you  have  chosen  the  right  road,"  he 
remarked.  "  The  real  reminiscences  of  the  old  stage-coach 
days  you  will  find  on  the  York  and  Berwick  road  to 
Scotland.  I  never  heard  of  anyone  going  to  Scotland  this 
way." 

"  Why,"  said  one  of  the  party,  with  a  laugh  that  seemed 
to  startle  the  stillness  around,  "that  is  the  very  reason  we 
chose  it !  " 

"  I  have  been  thinking  for  some  time,"  he  observed  coldly, 
"of  getting  a  dog-cart  and  driving  up  the  old  route  to 
Scotland." 

The  heavens  did  not  fall  on  him.  Queen  Tita  looked  at 
the  tips  of  her  gloves,  and  said  nothing  ;  but  Bell  having 
less  of  scepticism  about  her,  immediately  cried  out — 

"  Oh,  Arthur,  don't  do  that ;  it  will  be  dreadfully  wretched 
for  you  going  away  on  such  an  excursion  by  yourself." 

But  the  young  man  saw  that  his  proposal — I  will  swear  it 
had  never  entered  his  brain  before  that  very  minute — had 
produced  an  effect ;  and  treated  it  as  a  definite  resolve. 


OF  A  PHAETON.  153 

"  At  least,  if  you  are  going,  you  might  as  well  come  with 
us,  or  meet  us  further  on,  where  the  roads  join,"  suggested 
Bell. 

"  No,  I  am  not  so  mad  as  to  go  your  way,"  he  replied, 
with  an  air  of  disdain.  "  I  shall  keep  out  of  the  rainy 
districts,  and  I  mean  to  go  where  one  can  find  traces  of  the 
old  times  still  hanging  about." 

"  And  pray,"  I  ventured  to  ask  him,  "  are  all  the  old  inns 
confined  to  one  part  of  this  unfortunate  country  ?  And 
were  there  no  ways  of  getting  to  Scotland  but  by  York  and 
Berwick  ?  Why,  over  the  whole  country  there  is  a  network 
of  routes  along  which  stage-coaches  used  to  run.  And  if  you 
should  be  tired  of  driving  alone,  you  can  do  no  better  than 
strike  across  country  from  York  by  the  old  coach-road  that 
comes  on  to  Penrith,  and  so  go  up  with  us  through  Carlisle 
and  Moffat  to  Edinburgh." 

"  I  am  not  so  sure  that  I  shall  go  alone,"  he  said,  quite 
fiercely. 

What  did  the  boy  mean  ?  Was  he  going  to  drive  a  white 
elephant  about  the  country  ? 

"  Do  you  know  much  of  the  management  of  horses  ?  " 
asked  the  Lieutenant,  meaning  no  harm  whatever. 

"  Arthur  is  in  the  volunteer  artillery, — the  field  artillery, 
do  they  call  it  ? — and  of  course  he  has  to  manage  horses," 
explained  my  Lady. 

"  Oh,  you  are  a  volunteer  ?  "  said  the  Lieutenant  with 
quite  an  accession  of  interest.  "  Now  that  is  a  very  good 
thing.  I  think  all  the  young  men  of  this  country  would 
do  much  good  to  their  health  and  their  knowledge  by  being 
volunteers  and  serving  a  time  of  military  service." 

"  We  don't  like  compulsion  here,"  observed  Arthur, 
bluntly. 

"  That,"  retorted  the  Lieutenant,  with  a  laugh,  "  is  why 
you  are  at  present  a  very  ill-educated  country." 

"At  all  events,"  said  Arthur,  rather  hotly,  "we  are 
educated  well  enough  to  have  thrown  aside  the  old  supersti- 
tions of  feudalism  and  divine  right  ;  and  we  are  too  well 
educated  to  suffer  a  despotic  government  and  a  privileged 
aristocracy  to  have  it  all  their  own  way." 

"  Oh,  you  do  talk  of  Prussia,  yes  ?  "  said  the  Count. 
"Well,  we  are  not  perfect  in  Prussia,  We  have  many 


154  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

things  to  learn  and  to  do,  that  we  might  have  done  if  we  had 
been  preserved  round  about  by  the  sea,  like  you.  But  I 
think  we  have  done  very  well  for  all  that  :  and  if  we  have 
a  despotic  government,  which  I  do  not  think,  it  is  perhaps 
because  what  is  good  for  England  is  not  always  good  for 
every  other  country ;  and  if  we  have  an  aristocracy,  they 
work  for  the  country  just  like  the  sons  of  the  peasants,  when 
they  go  into  the  army  and  get  small  pay,  instead  of  going 
abroad  like  your  aristocracy,  and  gambling  away  their 
fortunes  to  the  Jews  and  the  horse-dealers,  and  getting  into 
debt  and  making  very  much  fools  of  themselves." 

"  When  we  of  this  country,"  says  Arthur,  proudly,  "  see 
the  necessity  of  military  preparations,  we  join  the  ranks  of  a 
body  that  accepts  no  pay,  but  is  none  the  less  qualified  to 
fight  when  that  is  wanted." 

"  Oh,  I  do  say  nothing  against  your  volunteers.  No,  on 
the  contrary,  I  think  it  is  an  excellent  thing  for  the  young 
men.  And  it  would  be  better  if  the  service  was  continuous 
for  one,  two,  or  three  years — and  they  go  away  into  barrack 
life — and  have  much  drill  and  exercise  in  the  open  air,  and 
make  the  young  men  of  the  cities  hardy  and  strong.  That 
would  be  a  very  good  army  then,  I  think  ;  for  when  the  men 
are  intelligent  and  educated,  they  have  less  chance  of  panic 
— which  is  the  worst  that  can  happen  in  a  battle — and  they 
will  not  skulk  away,  or  lose  their  courage,  because  they  have 
so  much  self-respect.  But  I  do  not  know  whether  this  is 
safer — to  have  the  more  ignorant  men  of  the  peasantry  and 
country  people,  who  will  take  their  drill  like  machines  and 
go  through  it  all,  and  continue  firing  in  great  danger, 
because  they  are  like  machines.  Now,  if  you  had  your  towns 
fighting  against  the  country,  and  if  you  had  your  town 
volunteers  and  your  country  regiments  with  the  same  amount 
of  instruction,  I  think  the  country  troops  would  win, 
although  each  man  might  not  have  as  much  patriotism  and 
education  and  self-respect  as  in  the  town  soldiers.  Because 
the  country  troops  would  march  long  distances — and  would 
not  be  hurt  much  by  rain  or  the  sleeping  out  at  night — and 
they  would  go  through  their  duties  like  machines  when  the 
fight  commenced.  But  your  city  volunteers — they  have  not 
yet  got  anything  like  the  training  of  your  regular  troops 
that  come  from  the  country  villages  and  towns." 


OF  A  PHAETON.  155 

"  I  know  this,n  says  Arthur,  "  that  if  there  was  to  be  an 
invasion  of  this  country  by  Prussia,  a  regiment  of  our  city 
volunteers  would  not  be  afraid  to  meet  a  regiment  of  your 
professional  soldiers,  however  countrified  and  mechanical 
they  may  be " 

"  Ah,  but  that  is  a  great  mistake  you  make,"  says  the 
Lieutenant,  taking  no  notice  of  the  challenge  ;  "  our  soldiers 
are  not  of  any  single  class — they  are  from  all  classes,  from  all 
towns,  and  villages,  and  cities  alike — much  more  like  your 
volunteers  than  your  regular  soldiers,  only  that  they  ihave 
some  more  drill  and  experience  than  your  volunteers.  And 
what  do  you  say  of  an  invasion  ?  I  have  heard  some  people 
talk  of  that  nonsense — but  only  in  England.  Is  it  that 
you  are  afraid  of  invasion  that  you  imagine  these  foolish 
things,  and  talk  so  much  of  it  ?  " 

"  No,  we  are  not  afraid  of  it "  says  Arthur,  evidently 

casting  about  for  some  biting  epigram. 

"  Yet  not  one  in  all  Europe  speaks  or  thinks  of  such  a 
thing  but  a  few  of  your  people  here,  who  give  great  amuse- 
ment to  us  at  home." 

"  There  would  be  amusement  of  another  sort  going <" 

says  Arthur,  getting  a  little  red. 

And  just  at  this  instant,  before  he  has  time  to  finish  the 
sentence,  Tita  utters  a  little  scream.  A  stone  has  splashed 
into  the  stream  beneath  us.  The  author  of  the  menace  is 
unknown — being  probably  one  of  a  gang  of  young  rascals 
hidden  behind  the  bushes  on  the  other  side  of  the  river — 
but  it  is  certainly  not  anger  that  dwells  in  my  Lady's  bosom 
with  regard  to  that  concealed  enemy.  He  has  afforded  her 
relief  at  a  most  critical  moment  ;  and  now  she  prevents 
Arthur  returning  to  the  subject  by  proposing  that  we  should 
walk  back  to  Worcester  ;  her  suggestion  being  fully  under- 
stood to  be  a  command. 

"We  set  out.  The  Lieutenant  wilfully  separates  himself 
from  Bell.  He  joins  us  elderly  folks  on  the  pretence  of 
being  much  interested  in  this  question  of  Volunteer  service 
— and  Bell  and  Arthur  are  perforce  thrown  together.  They 
walk  on  in  front  of  us,  in  rather  an  embarrassed  way.  Bell's 
looks  are  cast  down  ;  Arthur  speaks  in  a  loud  voice,  to  let  us 
know  that  he  is  only  talking  about  the  most  common-place 
affairs,  But  at  the  first  stile  we  go  through,  they  manage 


156  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

to  fall  behind  ;  and  when,  at  intervals,  we  turn  to  see  how 
the  river  and  the  meadows  and  the  groves  of  trees  look  in 
the  sunshine,  we  find  the  distance  between  us  and  the  young 
couple  gradually  increasing,  until  they  are  but  two  almost 
midistinguishable  figures  pacing  along  the  banks  of  the 
broad  stream. 

"  "Well,  we  have  got  so  far  over  the  day  !  "  said  my  Lady, 
with  a  sigh.  "  But  I  suppose  we  must  ask  him  to  dine  with 
us  this  evening." 

"  Is  it  necessary,  Madame  ?  "  responded  the  Lieutenant. 
"  But  perhaps  you  might  ask  him  to  bring  better  manners 
with  him." 

.  "  I  am  afraid  he  has  been  very  rude  to  you,"  said  Tita, 
with  some  show  of  compunction. 

"  To  me  ?  No.  That  is  not  of  any  consequence  what- 
ever ;  but  I  did  think  that  all  this  pleasant  walk  has  been 
spoiled  to  Mademoiselle  and  yourself  by — by  what  shall  I 
say  ? — not  rudeness,  but  a  fear  of  rudeness.  And  yet,  what 
reason  is  there  for  it  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know,"  was  the  reply,  uttered  in  rather  a  low 
voice.  "  But  I  hope  Bell  is  not  being  annoyed  by  him  now." 

You  see,  that  was  the  way  in  which  they  had  got  to  regard 
this  unfortunate  youth — as  a  sort  of  necessary  evil,  which 
was  to  be  accepted  with  such  equanimity  as  Heaven  had 
vouchsafed  to  the  various  sufferers.  It  never  occurred  to 
them  to  look  at  the  matter  from  Arthur's  point  of  view,  or 
to  reflect  that  there  was  probably  no  more  wretched  creature 
in  the  whole  of  England  than  he  was  during  this  memorable 
Sunday. 

Consider  how  he  spent  the  day.  It  was  the  one  day  on 
which  he  would  have  the  chance  of  seeing  Bell  for  an 
unknown  period.  He  comes  round  in  the  morning  to  find 
her  sitting  at  breakfast  with  his  rival.  He  accompanies 
them  on  a  walk  into  the  country  ;  finds  himself  "  the  third 
wheel  to  the  cart,"  and  falls  behind  to  enjoy  the  spectacle 
of  seeing  her  walk  by  the  side  of  this  other  man,  talking  to 
him,  and  sharing  with  him  the  beautiful  sights  and  sounds 
around.  Ye  who  have  been  transfixed  by  the  red-hot  skewers 
of  jealousy,  think  of  the  torture  which  this  wretched  young- 
man  suffered  on  this  quiet  Sunday  morning.  Then  as  he 
walks  home  with  her,  he  finds  her,  as  we  afterwards  learn, 


OF  A  PHAETON.  157 

annoyed  about  certain  remarks  of  his.  He  explains  in  a 
somewhat  saucy  manner,  and  makes  matters  worse.  Then  he 
takes  to  reproaches,  and  bids  her  reflect  on  what  people  will 
say  ;  and  here  again  he  goes  from  one  blunder  to  another 
in  talking  in  such  a  fashion  to  a  proud  and  high-spirited 
girl,  who  cannot  suffer  herself  to  be  suspected.  In  his 
blindness  of  anger  and  jealousy,  he  endeavours  to  asperse  the 
character  of  the  Lieutenant — he  is  like  other  officers — every 
one  knows  what  the  Prussian  officers,  in  general,  are — what 
is  the  meaning  of  this  thing,  and  the  dark  suspicion  sug- 
gested by  that.  To  all  of  these  representations  Bell  replies 
with  some  little  natural  warmth.  He  is  driven  wild  by  her 
defence  of  his  rival.  He  declares  that  he  knows  something 
about  the  Lieutenant's  reputation — and  then  she,  probably 
with  a  little  paleness  in  her  face,  stands  still,  and  asks  him 
calmly  to  say  what  it  is.  He  will  not.  He  is  not  going  to 
carry  tales.  Only,  when  an  English  lady  has  so  little  care  of 
what  people  may  say  as  to  accept  this  foreign  adventurer  as 
her  companion  during  a  long  journey — 

That  was  all  that  Bell  subsequently  told  Tita.  The  boy 
was  obviously  mad  and  reckless  ;  but  none  the  less  he  had 
wrought  such  mischief  as  he  little  dreamed  of  in  uttering 
these  wild  complaints  and  suspicions.  When  we  got  back 
to  the  hotel,  he  and  Bell  had  overtaken  us,  and  they  had  the 
appearance  of  not  being  on  the  best  of  terms.  In  fact,  they  had 
maintained  silence  for  the  last  quarter  of  an  hour  of  the  walk. 

My  Lady  asked  Arthur  to  dine  with  us  at  seven  ;  so  that 
during  the  interval  he  was  practically  dismissed.  Seven 
came,  and  Arthur  appeared.  He  was  in  evening  dress  ; 
conveying  a  rebuke  to  uncouth  people  like  ourselves,  who 
were  in  our  ordinary  travelling  costume.  But  Bell's  seat  was 
vacant.  After  we  had  waited  a  few  minutes,  Queen  Tita 
went  to  inquire  for  her,  and  in  a  few  minutes  returned. 

"  Bell  is  very  sorry,  but  she  has  a  headache,  and  would 
rather  not  come  down  to  dinner." 

Arthur  looked  up  with  an  alarmed  face  ;  the  Lieutenant 
scowled  ;  and  Tita,  taking  her  seat,  said  she  was  afraid  we 
had  walked  too  far  in  the  morning.  Strange.  If  you  had 
seen  our  Bell  going  lightly  up  to  the  top  of  Box-hill  and 
running  down  again — just  by  way  of  amusement  before 
lunch—  you  would  not  have  expected  that  a  short  walk  of  a 


158  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

mile  or  two  along  a  level  river-course  would  have  had  such 
an  effect.  Bat  so  it  was  ;  and  we  had  dinner  before  us. 

It  was  not  an  enlivening  meal ;  and  the  less  said  about  it 
the  better.  Arthur  talked  much  of  his  driving  to  Scotland 
in  a  dog-cart ;  and  magnified  the  advantages  of  the  York 
route  over  that  we  were  now  following.  It  is  quite  certain 
that  he  had  never  thought  of  such  a  thing  before  the 
morning  ;  but  the  attention  that  had  been  drawn  to  it,  and 
the  manner  in  which  he  had  been  led  to  boast  of  it,  promised 
actually  to  commit  him  to  this  piece  of  folly.  The  mere 
suggestion  of  it  had  occurred  at  the  impulse  of  a  momentary 
vexation  ;  but  the  more  he  talked  of  it,  the  more  he  pledged 
himself  to  carry  out  his  preposterous  scheme.  Tita  heard 
and  wondered,  scarcely  believing ;  but  I  could  see  plainly 
that  the  young  man  was  determined  to  fulfil  his  promise  if 
only  by  way  of  triumphant  bravado,  to  show  his  independence 
of  us,  and  perhaps  inspire  Bell  with  envy  and  regret. 

When  he  left  that  night,  something  was  said  about  his 
coming  to  see  us  away  on  the  following  morning.  Tita  had 
shown  her  usual  consideration  in  not  referring  at  all  to  our 
drive  of  the  next  day,  which  she  understood  was  to  be 
through  the  most  charming  scenery.  And  when,  that  same 
night,  she  expressed  a  vague  wish  that  we  could  slip  away 
on  the  next  morning  before  Arthur  had  come,  it  was  with 
no  actual  thought  of  carrying  such  a  plan  into  execution. 
Perhaps  she  thought  with  some  pity  of  the  young  man  who, 
after  seeing  us  drive  away  again  into  the  country,  and  the 
sweet  air,  and  the  sunlight,  would  return  disconsolately  to 
his  dingy  rooms  in  the  Temple,  there  to  think  of  his  absent 
sweetheart,  or  else  to  meditate  that  wild  journey  along  a 
parallel  line  which  was  to  show  her  that  he,  too,  had  his 
enjoyments. 

[Note. — I  find  that  the  remarks  which  Queen  Titania  appended  to 
the  foregoing  pages  when  they  were  written,  have  since  been  torn 
off ;  and  I  can  guess  the  reason.  A  few  days  ago  I  received  a  letter, 
sent  under  cover  to  the  publishers,  which  bore  the  address  of  that 
portion  of  the  country  familiarly  known  as  "  the  Dukeries."  It  was 
written  in  a  feminine  hand,  and  signed  with  a  family  name  which 
has  some  historical  pretensions.  Now  these  were  the  observations 
which  this  silly  person  in  high  places  had  to  communicate  : — "  Sir,  I 
hope  you  will  forgive  my  intruding  myself  upon  you  in  this  way;  but  I 
am  anxious  to  Imow  ivhether  you  really  do  think  living  with  such  a 


OF  A  PHAETON.  159 

woman  as  your  wife  is  represented  to  be,  is  really  a  matter  for  raillery 
and  amusement.  My  object  in  writing  to  you  is  to  say  that,  if  you  can 
treat  tightly  the  fact  of  a  wife  being  waspish  at  every  turn,  cuffing  her 
boys'  ears,  and  talking  o/  whipping,  it  would  have  been  better  not  to  have 
made  your  extraordinary  complaisance  public ;  for  what  is  to  prevent 
the  most  ill-tempered  woman  pointing  to  these  pages,  and  saying  that 
that  is  liow  a  reasonable  husband  would  deal  icith  her  ?  If  it  is  your 
misfortune  to  have  an  ill-tempered  wife,  you  ought  not  to  try  to  persuade 
people  that  you  are  rather  proud  of  it.  Pray  forgive  my  writing  thus 

franldy  to  you ;  and  I  am,  Sir,  your  obedient  servant. ."     By 

a  great  mischance  I  left  this  letter  lying  open  on  the  breakfast-table ; 
and  Tita,  coming  in,  and  being  attracted  by  the  crest  in  gold  and 
colours  on  the  paper,  took  it  up.  With  some  dismay,  I  watched  her 
read  it.  She  put  it  down— stood  irresolute  for  a  moment,  with  her 
lips  getting  rather  tremulous — then  she  suddenly  fled  into  the  haven 
she  had  often  sought  before  in  her  troubles,  and  looking  up  with  the 
clear  brown  eyes  showing  themselves  frightened  and  pained,  like  those 
of  some  dumb  creature  struck  to  the  heart,  she  said, "  Is  it  true  ?  Am  I 
really  ill-tempered  ?  Do  I  really  vex  you  very  much?  "  You  may  be 
sure  that  elderly  lady  up  in  Nottinghamshire  had  an  evil  quarter  of 
an  hour  of  it  when  we  proceeded  to  discuss  the  question,  and  when 
Queen  Tita  had  been  pacified  and  reassured.  "  But  we  ought  to  have 
known,"  she  said.  "  Count  von  Eosen  warned  us  that  stupid  persons 
would  make  the  mistake.  And  to  say  that  I  cuffed  my  boys'  ears ! 
Why,  you  know  that  even  in  the  Magazine  it  says  that  I  cuffed  the 
boys  and  kissed  them  at  the  same  time — of  course,  in  fun — and  I 
threatened  to  whip  the  whole  house — of  course,  in  fun,  you  know, 
when  everybody  was  in  good  spirits  about  going  away — and  now  that 
wicked  old  woman  would  make  me  out  an  unnatural  mother,  and  a 
bad  wife,  and  I  don't  know  what !  I — I— I  will  get  Bell  to  draw  a 
portrait  of  her,  and  put  it  in  an  exhibition — that  would  serve  her 
right."  And  forthwith  she  sat  down  and  wrote  to  the  two  boys  at 
Twickenham,  promising  them  I  know  not  what  luxuries  and  ex- 
travagances when  they  came  home  for  the  Easter  holidays.  But  she 
is  offended  with  the  public,  all  through  that  gabbling  old  lady  in 
Notts  ;  and  will  have  no  more  communication  with  it,  at  least  for  the 
present.] 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

SAVED  ! 

"  Unto  the  great  Twin  Brethren 

We  keep  this  solemn  feast. 
Swift,  swift  the  great  Twin  Brethren 
Came  spurring  from  the  east ! " 

CASTOK  and  Pollux  did  us  notable  service  that  morning  at 
Worcester.  Arthur  was  coming  round  to  see  Bell  before  we 
started.  Queen  Tita  was  oppressed -by  anxious  fears  ;  and 


160  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

declared  that  now  the  great  crisis  had  come,  and  that  the 
young  man  from  Twickenham  would  demand  some  pledge 
from  Bell  as  he  bade  her  good-bye.  The  dread  of  this 
danger  drove  the  kindly  little  woman  into  such  exaggerations 
of  his  misconduct  of  yesterday  that  I  began  to  wonder  if  this 
Arthur  were  really  the  same  lad  she  used  to  pet  and  think 
so  much  of  when  he  came  down  to  Leatherhead  and  dawdled 
with  my  Lady  and  Bell  along  the  Surrey  lanes  of  an  evening. 
What  had  changed  him  since  then  ? 

"  You  are  pleased  to  be  profound,"  says  Tita,  abruptly. 

Well,  I  was  only  pointing  out  to  her  that  one  of  the  chief 
accomplishments  of  life  is  consideration  for  the  sick ;  and 
that  whereas  nearly  all  women  seem  to  have  an  inherited 
instinct  that  way,  men  only  acquire  the  habit  as  the  result 
of  experience  and  reflection.  Indeed,  with  most  women, 
the  certain  passport  to  their  interest  and  kindliness  is  to  be 
unwell  and  to  exact  a  great  deal  of  patient  service  from  them. 
Now — I  was  saying  to  Tita,  when  she  uttered  that  un- 
necessary rebuke — why  don't  women  show  the  same  con- 
sideration to  those  who  are  mentally  ailing  ? — to  the 
unfortunate  persons  whose  vexed  and  irritated  brain  renders 
them  peevish  and  ill-tempered  ?  Once  get  a  patient  down 
with  fever,  and  all  his  fractious  complainings  are  soothed 
and  all  his  querulous  whims  are  humoured.  But  when  the 
same  man  is  rendered  a  little  insane  by  meeting  with  a 
disappointment — or  if  he  is  unable  to  stand  being  crossed  in 
argument,  so  that  the  mildest  statement  about  some  such 
contested  subject  as  the  American  War,  Governor  Eyre,  or 
the  Annexation  of  Alsace,  sends  a  flash  of  flame  through  his 
head — why  should  not  the  like  allowance  be  made  for  his 
infirmities  ?  Why  should  the  man  who  is  ill-tempered 
because  of  a  fever  be  humoured,  caressed,  and  coaxed  ;  and 
the  man  who  is  ill-tempered  because  his  reason  is  liable  to 
attacks  of  passion,  be  regarded  as  an  ill-conditioned  boor, 
not  fit  for  the  society  of  well-bred  ladies  and  gentlemen  ? 

"I  think,"  says  Tita,  with  a  little  warmth,  "you  do 
nothing  now  but  try  to  invent  excuses  for  Arthur.  And  it 
is  not  fair.  I  am  very  sorry  for  him  if  he  is  so  vexed  that 
he  loses  his  temper ;  but  that  does  not  excuse  his  being 
absolutely  rude." 

"  But  his  rudeness  is  part  of  his  ailment,"  I  venture  to 


OF  A  PHAETON.  161 

say.  "  Ordinarily,  he  is  the  mildest  and  gentlest  of  young 
men,  who  would  shrink  from  a  charge  of  rudeness  as  the 
worst  thing  you  could  urge  against  him.  At  present  he  is 
off  his  head.  He  does  not  know  what  he  says — or  rather, 
he  is  incapable  of  controlling  his  utterances.  He  is  really 
sick  with  a  fever — though  it  isn't  one  of  those,  apparently, 
that  secure  the  commiseration  of  even  the  most  angelic  of 
women." 

I  regarded  that  last  expression  as  rather  effective ;  but 
no.  My  Lady  remarked  that  she  was  not  accustomed  to  the 
treatment  of  the  insane  ;  and  that  another  day  such  as  that 
she  had  just  passed  would  soon  make  her  as  ill  as  himself. 

Our  Bonny  Bell  did  not  seem  so  disturbed  as  might  have 
been  expected.  When  we  went  down  to  the  coffee-room  we 
found  the  Lieutenant  and  her  sitting  at  opposite  sides  of  a 
small  table,  deeply  engaged  over  a  sheet  of  paper.  On  our 
entrance  the  document  was  hastily  folded  up  and  smuggled 
away. 

"  It  is  a  secret,"  said  the  Lieutenant,  anticipating  inquiry. 
"  You  shall  not  know  until  we  are  away  on  our  journey 
again.  It  is  a  packet  to  be  opened  in  a  quiet  place — no 
houses  near,  no  persons  to  listen  ;  and  then — and  then " 

"  Perhaps  it  will  remain  a  secret  ?  Bien  I  Life  is  not 
long  enough  to  let  one  meddle  with  secrets  ;  they  take  up 
so  much  time  in  explanation  ;  and  then  they  never  contain 
anything." 

"  But  this  is  a  very  wonderful  thing,"  said  the  Lieutenant ; 
"  and  you  must  hurry  to  get  away  from  Worcester  that  you 
shall  hear  of  it." 

We  were,  however,  to  have  another  sealed  packet  that 
morning.  Master  Arthur,  knowing  full  well  that  he  would 
have  but  little  chance  of  speaking  privately  with  Bell,  had 
entrusted  Ms  thoughts  to  a  piece  of  paper  and  an  envelope  ; 
and  just  as  we  were  in  the  hurry  of  departure,  the  young 
man  appeared.  The  truth  was,  the  Lieutenant  had  ordered 
the  horses  to  be  put  to  some  quarter  of  an  hour  before  the 
time  we  had  said  we  should  start ;  and  my  Lady  showed  so 
much  anxiety  to  set  forth  at  once  that  I  saw  she  hoped  to 
leave  before  Arthur  came. 

The  phaeton  stood  in  the  archway  of  the  hotel,  and 
here  also  were  all  our  rugs  and  books. 

M 


i62  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

"  My  dear,"  says  Tita,  rather  anxiously,  to  Bell,  "  do  get 
in  !  The  horses  seem  rather  fresh,  and — and " 

"  Won't  you  wait  to  bid  good-bye  to  Arthur  ?  "  says  Bell. 

"  It  is  impossible  to  say  when  he  will  come — he  will 
understand — I  will  leave  a  message  for  him,"  says  Queen 
Titania,  all  in  a  breath  ;  and  with  that  the  Lieutenant 
assists  Bell  to  get  up  in  front. 

I  have  the  reins  in  my  hand,  awaiting  orders.  The  last 
rugs  are  thrown  up,  books  stowed  away,  everything  in 
readiness  ;  Tita  takes  her  seat  behind,  and  the  Lieutenant 
is  on  the  point  of  getting  up. 

At  this  moment  Arthur  comes  round  the  corner,  is  amazed 
for  a  moment  to  see  us  ready  to  start,  and  then  suddenly 
brings  out  a  letter. 

"  Bell,"  he  says,  "  I — I  have — there  is  something  here  I 
want  you  to  see — only  a  moment,  and  you  can  give  me  an 
answer  now — yes  or  no " 

The  unfortunate  young  man  was  obviously  greatly 
excited ;  his  face  quite  pale,  and  his  speech  rapid  and 
broken.  He  handed  up  the  letter  :  the  crisis  that  Tita  had 
endeavoured  to  avoid  had  come.  But  in  this  our  darkest 
hour — as  I  have  already  hinted — Castor  and  Pollux  came 
to  the  rescue.  It  was  the  battle  of  the  Lake  Regillus  acted 
once  again  in  the  gateway  of  the  Worcester  Star  Hotel. 
For  Pollux,  casting  his  head  about  and  longing  to  start, 
managed  to  fix  his  bit  on  the  end  of  the  pole  ;  and,  of 
course,  a  wild  scene  ensued.  Despite  the  efforts  of  the 
ostler,  the  horse  threw  himself  back  on  his  haunches  ;  the 
phaeton  described  a  curve,  and  was  driven  against  the  wall 
with  a  loud  crash  ;  the  people  about  fled  in  every  direction  ; 
and  the  Lieutenant  jumped  out  and  sprang  to  the  horses' 
heads.  Pollux  was  still  making  violent  efforts  to  extricate 
himself,  and  Castor,  having  become  excited,  was  plunging 
about  ;  so  that  for  a  moment  it  seemed  as  though  the 
vehicle  would  be  shattered  in  pieces  against  the  wall  of  the 
court.  The  women  were  quite  still,  except  that  Tita  uttered 
a  little  suppressed  cry  as  she  saw  the  Lieutenant  hanging  on 
to  the  rearing  horses.  He  stuck  manfully  to  their  heads, 
and,  with  the  assistance  of  the  ostler,  at  last  managed  to  get 
the  bit  off.  Then  both  horses  sprang  forward.  It  would 
have  been  impossible  to  have  confined  them  longer  in  this 


OF  A  PHAETON.  163 

narrow  place.  The  Lieutenant  leaped  in  behind  ;  and  the 
next  moment  the  phaeton  was  out  in  the  main  street  of 
"Worcester,  both  horses  plunging  and  pulling  so  as  to  turn 
all  eyes  towards  us.  Certainly,  it  was  a  good  thing  the 
thoroughfare  was  pretty  clear.  The  great  Twin  Brethren, 
not  knowing  what  diabolical  occurrence  had  marked  their 
setting  out,  were  speeding  away  from  the  place  with  might 
and  main  ;  and  with  scarcely  a  look  at  Worcester  we  found 
ourselves  once  more  out  in  the  country,  amid  quiet  and 
wooded  lanes,  with  all  the  sweet  influences  of  a  bright 
summer  morning  around  us. 

"  I  hope  you  are  not  hurt,"  said  my  Lady  to  the 
Lieutenant,  who  was  looking  about  to  see  whether  the 
smash  had  taken  some  of  the  paint  off,  or  done  other 
damage. 

"  Oh,  not  in  the  least,  Madame,"  he  said,  "  but  I  -find 
that  one  of  my  boots  is  cut,  so  that  I  think  the  shoe  of  the 
horse  must  have  done  it.  And  has  he  caught  on  the  pole 
before  ?  " 

"  Only  once,"  she  says. 

"  Then  I  would  have  the  bit  made  with  bars  across,  so 
that  it  will  be  more  difficult ;  for  suppose  this  did  happen 
in  the  road,  and  there  was  a  ditch,  and  he  backed  you " 

"  I  suppose  we  should  go  over,"  remarked  Queen  Tita 
philosophically.  "  But  it  is  strange  how  often  accidents  in 
driving  might  occur,  and  how  seldom  they  do  occur.  But 
we  must  really  have  the  bit  altered." 

"  Well,"  I  asked  of  my  gentle  companion,  "  what  message 
did  you  leave  with  Arthur  ?  " 

"  I  could  not  leave  any,"  said  Bell,  "  for  of  course  when 
the  horses  went  back,  he  had  to  get  out  of  their  way.  Bat 
he  will  understand  that  I  will  write  to  him." 

"  Have  you  read  the  letter  ?  " 

"  No."  ' 

"  Do,  like  a  good  girl,  and  have  it  over.  That  is  always 
the  best  way.  You  must  not  go  into  this  beautiful  country 
that  lies  ahead  with  a  sort  of  cloud  over  you." 

So  Bell  took  out  the  letter,  and  furtively  opened  it.  She 
read  it  carefully  over,  without  uttering  a  word ;  then  she 
continued  looking  at  it  for  a  long  time. 

"  I  am  very  glad  that  accident  occurred,"  she  remarked, 

M  2 


1 64  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

in  a  low  voice.  "  He  said  I  was  to  answer  '  yes '  or  '  no.' 
I  could  not  do  that  to  such  a  letter  as  this  ;  and  if  I  had 
refused,  he  would  have  been  very  much  hurt.  I  will  \vrite 
to  him  from  whatever  place  we  stop  at  to-night." 

This  resolution  seemed  greatly  to  comfort  her.  If  any 
explanation  were  needed,  it  was  postponed  until  the  evening ; 
and  in  the  meantime  we  had  fine  weather,  fresh  air,  and  all 
the  beautiful  tones  of  an  English  landscape  around  us.  Bell 
rapidly  resumed  her  ordinary  good  spirits.  She  begged  to 
have  the  reins ;  and  when  these  had  been  handed  over  to 
her,  with  various  cautions,  the  excitement  of  driving  a 
pair  of  horses  that  yet  showed  considerable  signs  of  fresh- 
ness brought  a  new  colour  into  her  cheeks.  The  route 
which  we  now  followed  was  one  of  the  prettiest  we  had  yet 
met  with.  Instead  of  following  the  old  stage-coach  route 
by  Droitwich,  we  struck  almost  due  north  by  a  line  of 
small  and  picturesque  villages  lying  buried  in  the  heart 
of  this  deeply-wooded  country.  The  first  of  these  was 
Ombersley — a  curious  little  clump  of  cottages,  nearly  all  of 
which  were  white,  with  black  bars  of  woodwork  crossed  and 
re-crossed ;  and  they  had  odd  gables,  and  lattices,  and 
decorations,  so  that  they  looked  almost  like  toy-cottages. 
Wearing  white  and  black  in  this  prominent  way,  our  Uhlan 
immediately  claimed  them  as  Prussian  property  ;  but  beyond 
the  fact  of  their  showing  the  Prussian  colours,  there  was 
little  else  foreign-looking  about  those  old-fashioned  English 
houses  lying  along  this  level  lane,  and  half  hidden  amid 
elms.  As  we  got  up  into  the  higher  ground  above  Ombersley 
we  found  around  us  a  very  pleasant  landscape ;  and  it 
seemed  to  strike  my  gentle-eyed  companion  that  the  names 
of  the  villages  around  had  been  chosen  to  accord  with  the 
tender  and  syjvan  beauties  of  this  charming  piece  of  country. 
One  of  the  sign-posts  we  passed  had  inscribed  on  it,  "  To 
Doverdale  and  Hampton  Lovett."  Then  in  the  neighbour- 
hood are  Elmley  Lovett,  Elmbridge,  Crossway  Green,  and 
Gardeners'  Grove  ;  while  down  between  these  runs  Dover- 
dale  Brook,  skirting  Westmoor  Park,  the  large  house  of 
which  we  could  see  as  a  faint  blue  mound  amid  the  general 
leafage.  The  country,  which  is  flat  about  Ombersley,  gets 
more  undulating  about  Hartlebury  and  on  towards  Kidder- 
minster. The  roads  wind  up  and  down  gentle  hills,  with 


OF  A  PHAETON.  165 

tall  and  ruddy  banks  of  sand  on  each  side,  which  are 
hanging  with  every  variety  of  wild  flower  and  wayside 
weed.  On  both  hands  dense  woods  come  down  to  these 
tall  and  picturesque  banks  ;  and  you  drive  through  an 
atmosphere  laden  with  moist  and  resinous  scents. 

It  was  fortunate  for  us,  indeed,  that  before  starting  we 
had  lived  for  a  time  in  town  ;  for  all  the  various  perfumes 
of  the  hedges  and  fields  came  upon  us  with  a  surprise. 
Every  now  and  again,  on  these  cool  and  breezy  mornings, 
we  would  drive  past  a  hay-field,  with  the  fresh  and  sweet 
odours  blowing  all  around.  Or  perhaps  it  was  a  great 
clump  of  wild-rose  bushes  that  filled  the  air  with  delicate 
scent.  Then  the  lime-trees  were  in  flower ;  and  who  does 
not  know  the  delight  of  passing  under  the  boughs  laden 
with  blossom,  when  the  bees  are  busy  overhead  ?  More 
rarely,  but  still  frequently  enough  in  this  favoured  country, 
a  whiff  of  honeysuckle  was  borne  to  us  as  we  passed.  And 
if  these  things  sweetened  the  winds  that  blew  about  us, 
consider  what  stars  of  colour  refreshed  the  eye  as  we  drove 
gently  past  the  tall  hedgerows  and  borders  of  woods — the 
golden  rock-roses,  purple  patches  of  wild  thyme,  the  white 
glimmering  of  stitchwort  and  campion,  the  yellow  spires  of 
the  snapdragon,  and  a  thousand  others.  And  then,  when 
we  ceased  to  speak,  there  was  no  blank  of  silence.  Away 
over  the  hayfield  the  lark  floated  in  the  blue,  making  the 
air  quiver  with  his  singing  ;  the  robin,  perched  on  a  fence, 
looked  at  us  saucily,  and  piped  a  few  notes  by  way  of 
remark  ;  the  blackbird  was  heard,  flute -throated,  down  in 
the  hollow  recesses  of  the  woods  ;  and  the  thrush,  in  a 
holly-tree  by  the  wayside,  sang  out  his  sweet,  clear  song, 
that  seemed  to  rise  in  strength  as  the  wind  awoke  a  sudden 
rustling  through  the  groves  of  birch  and  oak. 

"  Well,  touching  that  sealed  packet  ? "  says  my  Lady, 
aloud. 

"Oh  no,  Madame,"  replies  the  Lieutenant.  "This  is 
not  the  time  for  it.  If  I  must  tell  you  the  truth,  it  is  only  a 
drinking-song  I  have  been  trying  to  remember  of  a  young 
Englishman  who  was  at  Bonn  with  me  ;  and  Mademoiselle 
was  so  good  this  morning  as  to  alter  some  of  the  words. 
But  now  ? — a  drinking-song  in  this  fine,  quiet  country  ? — 
No.  After  we  have  got  to  Kidderminster,  and  when  we 


166  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

drive  away  after  lunch,  then  Mademoiselle  will  play  for  you 
the  air  I  did  show  to  her,  and  I  will  sing  you  the  song. 
And  what  is  needed  is  that  you  drink  some  Ehine  wine  at 
Kidderminster  to  make  you  like  the  song." 

"  Kidderminster  Rhine  wine  !  "  exclaims  one  of  the  party, 
with  a  groan.  He  knows  that  whatever  is  suggested  now 
by  the  Lieutenant  finds  favour  with  a  clear  majority  of  the 
party. 

"That  was  a  very  good  young  fellow,"  continues  the 
Lieutenant,  as  we  drive  over  a  high  slope,  and  come  in 
view  of  a  mass  of  manufactories.  "  Very  big  and  strong  he 
was  ;  we  did  call  him  der  grosse  Engldnder  always  ;  and  one 
time,  in  the  winter,  when  there  was  much  snow,  we  had  a 
supper-party  at  his  room.  We  had  many  duels  then,  for  we 
were  only  boys  ;  but  the  Englishman  was  not  supposed  to  be 
challenged,  for  he  knew  nothing  of  our  swords  ;  but  he  was 
always  ready  to  fight  with  his  fists  for  all  that.  And  this 
evening,  I  am  afraid  we  did  drink  too  much  beer  ;  and  young 
Schweitzer  of  Magdeburg — he  died  at  Koniggratz,  the  un- 
fortunate, in  '66 — he  was  very  angry  with  the  Englander 
for  laughing  at  his  sweetheart,  who  was  but  a  young  lady  in 
a  school  there.  And  he  challenged  the  Englishman,  and 
went  up  to  him,  and  said  he  would  not  go  away  until  there 
was  a  fight  ;  and  do  you  know  what  your  countryman  did  ? 
He  lifted  Schweitzer  up  in  his  arms,  like  a  baby,  and  carried 
him  down  the  stairs,  and  opened  the  door,  and  put  him  in 
the  snow  outside,  very  gently.  There  was  so  much  laughing 
over  that,  that  we  all  said  it  was  very  good  ;  and  Schweitzer 
was  grown  sober  by  the  cool  of  the  snow  ;  and  he  laughed 
too  ;  and  I  think  they  swore  bruderschaft  about  it  afterwards. 
Oh,  he  was  a  very  clever  fellow,  your  countryman,  and  had 
more  delight  in  our  songs  than  any  German  I  ever  knew. 
But  do  you  know  how  that  is  ?  " 

Madame  said  it  was  no  wonder  anyone  should  be  in  love 
with  the  German  songs  ;  but  the  Lieutenant  shook  his  head. 

"  That  is  not  it  at  all :  no.  This  is  it — that  when  you 
know  only  a  little  of  a  language,  you  do  not  know  what  is 
commonplace  in  it.  The  simple  phrase  which  is  common- 
place to  others,  that  is  all  full  of  meaning  to  you.  So  I  find 
it  with  your  English.  You  would  laugh  if  I  told  you  that 
I  find  much  meaning  in  poetry  that  you  think  only  good 


OF  A  PHAETON.  167 

for  children,  and  in  old-fashioned  writing,  which  looks 
affected  now.  Because,  Madame,  is  it  not  true  that  all 
commonplace  phrases  meant  some  new  thing  at  one  time  ? 
It  is  only  my  ignorance  that  I  do  not  know  they  have 
grown  old  and  worth  little.  Now  the  evening  at  Twicken- 
ham I  did  hear  you  go  over  the  names  of  old-fashioned 
English  songs,  and  much  fun  was  made  of  the  poetry.  But 
to  me,  that  was  very  good — a  great  deal  of  it — because 
nothing  in  English  is  to  me  commonplace  as  yet." 

"  How  fortunate  you  must  be  !  "  says  one  of  us,  with  a  sigh. 

"  You  laugh  when  you  say,  '  Flow  on,  thou  shining  river  ! ' 
Why  ?  The  river  flows  :  and  it  shines.  I  see  a  clear 
picture  out  of  the  words — like  the  man  who  wrote  them  ;  I 
am  not  accustomed  to  them  so  as  to  think  them  stupid. 
Then  I  saw  you  laugh  when  some  one  said,  *  /  dreamt  that  I 
dwelt  in  marUe  halls.''  I  did  read  that  song  ;  and  although  it 
is  stupid  that  the  man  thinks  he  will  live  in  marble  halls,  I 
found  much  tenderness  in  it.  So  with  this  young  English- 
man. He  knew  nothing  of  what  was  commonplace  in  our 
language.  If  you  gave  him  children's  rhymes,  he  looked  at 
the  meaning  ;  and  judged  it  all  by  that.  And  when  we 
showed  him  stiff,  artificial  verses  of  old  times,  he  seemed  to 
go  back  to  the  time  when  they  were  written,  and  believe 
much  in  them,  and  like  them.  That  is  a  very  good  thing 
in  ignorance,  I  think — when  you  know  not  much  of  a  lan- 
guage, and  every  word  has  much  meaning  in  it,  and  there  is 
no  commonplace  anywhere." 

This  lecture  of  the  Lieutenant  took  us  into  Kidder- 
minster. What  married  man  is  not  familiar  with  the 
name — held  up  to  him  as  an  awful  threat  in  reply  to  his 
grumblings  about  the  price  of  Turkey  and  Brussels  carpets  ? 
As  we  drove  into  the  busy  town,  signs  of  the  prevailing 
manufacture  were  everywhere  apparent  in  the  large  red- 
brick factories.  We  put  up  at  the  "  Lion,"  and  while  von 
Rosen  went  off  to  buy  himself  a  new  pair  of  boots,  we  went 
for  a  stroll  up  to  the  interesting  old  church,  the  fine  brasses 
and  marble  monuments  of  which  have  drawn  many  a  stranger 
to  the  spot.  Then  we  climbed  to  the  top  of  the  tower,  and 
from  the  zinc  roof  thereof  had  a  spacious  view  over  the  level 
and  wooded  country,  which  was  deeply  streaked  by  bands  of 
purple,  where  the  clouds  threw  their  shadows.  Far  below  us 


168  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

lay  the  red,  busy,  smoky  town  set  amid  green  fields  ;  while 
the  small  river  ran  through  it  like  a  black  snake,  for  the  bed 
had  been  drained,  and  in  the  dark  mud  a  multitude  of  boys 
could  be  seen  wading,  scooping  about  for  eels.  When  we 
descended,  von  Rosen  had  got  his  boots,  and  was  prowling 
about  the  churchyard,  reading  the  curious  inscriptions  there. 
One  of  them  informed  the  world  of  the  person  laid  beneath 
that,  "  added  to  the  character  of  a  Gentleman,  his  actions 
were  coeval  with  his  Integrity,  Hospitality,  and  Benevo- 
lence." But  our  amiable  guide,  who  had  pointed  out  to  us 
all  the  wonderful  features  of  Kidderminster  and  its  neigh- 
bourhood, evidently  looked  on  one  particular  grave-stone 
as  the  chief  curiosity  of  the  place ;  for  this,  he  informed 
us,  was  placed  over  a  man  who  had  prepared  the  vault  and 
the  inscription  ten  years  before  his  death.  Here  is  the 
legend  : — 

"To  the  Memory  of 

JOHN  ORTON, 

A  MAN  FROM  LEICESTERSHIRE, 
And  when  he  is  dead  he  must  lie  under  HERE." 

The  man  from '  Leicestershire  was  not  "  alone  among 
mortals  "  in  anticipating  his  end  in  this  fashion  ;  but  no 
matter.  A  man  may  well  be  allowed  to  humour  himself  in 
the  way  of  a  tombstone  ;  it  is  the  last  favour  he  can  ask 
from  the  world. 

"  Now,"  said  the  Lieutenant,  as  we  drove  away  from  this 
manufacturing  town  into  the  fresh  country  again,  "  shall  I 
sing  you  the  song  which  the  young  Englishman  used  to  sing 
for  us  ;  or  shall  we  wait  until  the  evening  ?  " 

"  Now,  by  all  means,"  said  Bell ;  "  and  if  you  will  be  so 
good  as  to  give  me  out  the  guitar,  I  will  try  to  play  you  an 
accompaniment." 

"  A  guitar  accompaniment  to  a  drinking-song  ! "  says 
Titania. 

"  Oh,  but  this  is  not  a  drinking-song,  exactly,  Madame — 
it  is  a  very  moral  song  ;  and  we  shall  discuss  each  verse  as 
it  goes  along,  and  you  will  make  alterations  of  it." 

So  he  got  out  the  guitar.  We  were  now  far  away  from 
any  houses — all  around  us  great  woods,  that  lay  dark  and 
green  under  a  clouded  afternoon  sky.  The  road  was  very 
hilly ;  and  sometimes,  from  the  summit  of  a  great  height, 


OF  A  PHAETON.  169 

we  caught  a  glimpse  of  a  long  western  stretch  of  country, 
lying  blue  and  misty  under  the  grey  sky.  Behind  us 
Kidderminster  looked  like  a  dusty  red  splatch  in  a  verdant 
plain  ;  and  all  around  it  the  meadows  and  fields  were  low 
and  intense  in  colour.  But  then  in  the  west  we  could  see 
an  occasional  glimpse  of  yellow  in  the  pall  of  cloud  ;  and  we 
hoped  the  sunset  would  break  through  the  veil. 

"  Ladies  and  gentlemen,"  said  the  Lieutenant,  "  the  song 
I  am  about  to  sing  to  you " 

Here  Bell  began  to  play  a  light  prelude  ;  and  without 
further  introduction  our  Uhlan  startled  the  silence  of  the 
woods  and  fields  by  singing,  in  a  profound  and  melancholy 
voice,  the  first  two  verses  of  the  ballad  composed  by  the 
young  Englishman  at  Bonn,  which  ran  somewhat  as 
follows  : — 

Oh,  Burgundy  isn't  a  good  thing  to  drink; 

Young  man,  I  beseech  you,  consider  and  think; 

Or  else  in  your  nose,  and  likewise  in  your  toes, 

You'll  discover  the  colour  of  Burgundy  rose : 
Burgundy  rose,  Burgundy  rose, 
A  dangerous  symptom  is  Burgundy  rose. 

'Tis  a  very  nice  wine,  and  as  mellow  as  milk ; 

'Tis  a  very  nice  colour,  in  satin  or  silk; 

But  you'll  change  your  opinion  as  soon  as  it  shows 

In  a  halo  around  the  extreme  of  your  nose : 
Burgundy  rose,  Burgundy  rose, 
Is  a  very  bad  thing  at  the  tip  of  your  toes. 

"  Well,  Madame,  how  do  you  like  it  so  far  as  we  have 
got  ? "  says  the  Lieutenant,  as  Bell  is  extemporising  a 
somewhat  wild  variation  of  the  air. 

"  I  think  your  young  English  friend  gave  you  very  good 
advice ;  and  I  have  no  doubt  the  students  needed  it  very 
much." 

"  But  you  shall  hear  what  he  says ;  he  was  not  a 
teetotaller  at  all." 

And  therewith  the  Lieutenant  continues  : — 

If  tipple  you  must,  in  beer,  spirits,  or  wine, 

There  are  wholesome  vintages  hail  from  the  Khine; 

And,  take  the  advice  of  a  fellow  who  knows, 

Hochheimer's  as  gentle  as  any  that  goes: 
Burgundy  rose,  Burgundy  rose, 
Doth  never  appear  from  the  wine  I  propose. 


i;o  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

Oh,  Burgundy  isn't  a  good  thing  to  drink; 
Young  man,  I  beseech  you,  consider  and  think ; 
Or  else  in  your  nose,  and  likewise  in  your  toes, 
You'll  discover  the  colour  of  Burgundy  rose: 

Burgundy  rose,  Burgundy  rose, 

A  fatal  affliction  is  Burgundy  rose  ! 

"  Oh,  you  two  scapegraces  !  "  cried  Queen  Titania.  "  I 
know  now  why  you  were  laying  your  heads  together  this 
morning,  and  poring  over  that  sheet  of  paper  ;  you  were 
engaged  in  perverting  an  honest  and  well-intentioned  song 
into  a  recommendation  of  German  wines.  I  am  sure  that 
third  verse  is  not  in  the  original.  I  am  certain  the  young 
English  student  never  wrote  it.  It  was  written  in 
Worcester  this  very  morning  ;  and  I  call  on  you  to  produce 
the  original,  so  that  we  may  cut  out  this  very  bad  moral 
that  has  been  introduced." 

"  The  original,  Madame  ?  "  said  the  Lieutenant,  gravely. 
"There  is  no  original.  I  have  repeated  it  mostly  from 
memory — as  he  used  to  sing  it  at  Bonn — and  I  put  it  down 
on  paper  only  that  Mademoiselle  might  correct  me  about  the 
words.  No — I  have  put  in  no  moral.  You  think  your 
countryman  did  not  like  the  Ehine  wines  ?  Pfui  ! — you 
should  have  seen  him  drink  them,  then,  if  he  did  not  like 
them  !  And  the  very  dear  ones,  too,  for  he  had  plenty  of 
money  ;  and  we  poor  devils  of  the  Germans  used  to  be 
astonished  at  his  extravagance,  and  sometimes  he  was  called 
'  milord  '  for  a  joke.  When  we  did  go  to  his  room  to  the 
supper-parties,  we  could  not  believe  that  any  young  man  not 
come  of  age  should  have  so  much  money  given  to  him  by 
his  parents.  But  it  did  not  spoil  him  one  bit  ;  he  was  as 
good,  frank,  careless  as  any  man,  and  when  he  did  get  to 
know  the  language  better  he  worked  hard,  and  had  such 
notes  of  the  lectures  as  not  anyone,  I  think,  in  the  whole 
University  had." 

A  strange  thing  now  occurred.  We  were  driving  along 
level  and  wooded  lanes,  running  parallel  with  the  Severn. 
The  small  hamlets  we  passed,  merely  two  or  three  houses 
smothered  in  elms,  are  appropriately  named  greens — Fen 
Green,  Dodd's  Green,  Bard's  Green,  and  the  like  ;  and  on 
either  side  of  us  were  lush  meadows,  with  the  cattle  standing 
deep  in  the  grass.  Now  all  at  once  that  long  bar  of 


OF  A  PHAETON.  171 

glimmering  yellow  across  the  western  clouds  burst  asunder  ; 
and  at  the  same  moment  a  glare  of  light  shone  along  the 
southern  sky,  where  there  was  evidently  abundant  rain. 
We  had  no  sooner  turned  to  look  at  this  flood  of  golden 
mist,  than  all  around  us  there  was  a  stir  in  the  hedges  and 
the  tall  elms  by  the  roadside  ;  we  were  enveloped  in 
sunshine ;  with  it  came  a  quick  pattering  on  the  leaves ; 
and  then  we  found  the  air  glittering  with  white  drops  and 
slanting  streaks.  In  the  wild  glare  of  the  sunlight  the 
shower  shone  and  sparkled  around  us ;  and  the  heavier  it 
fell — until  the  sound  of  it  was  like  the  hissing  of  the  sea  on 
a  pebbly  beach — the  more  magical  grew  the  effects  of  the 
mingled  light  and  wet.  Nor  was  it  a  passing  shower 
merely.  The  air  was  still  rilled  with  the  gleaming  lines  of 
the  rain  ;  the  sunlight  still  shone  mistily  through  it  and  lit 
up  the  green  meadows  and  the  trees  with  a  wonderful 
radiance  ;  as  we  wrapped  cloaks  round  our  companions  and 
drove  leisurely  on.  It  was  impossible  to  think  that  this 
luminous  rain  could  wet  us  like  ordinary  rain.  But  by  and 
by  it  drew  itself  off  ;  and  then  Bell,  with  a  sudden  little  cry, 
besought  the  Lieutenant  to  pull  up  the  horses. 

Had  we  driven  under  a  cloud,  and  escaped  at  the  other 
edge  ?  Close  behind  us  there  was  still  mingled  rain  and 
sunlight ;  but  beyond  that  again  the  sky  was  heaped  up 
with  immense  dark  blue  masses.  A  rainbow  shone  in  front 
of  this  black  background.  A  puff  of  white  cloud  ran  across 
the  darkness,  telling  of  contrary  winds.  And  then  when  we 
turned  from  this  gleaming  and  glowing  picture  to  continue 
our  course,  lo  !  all  the  west  had  cleared,  and  a  great  dim 
smoke  of  yellow  lay  over  the  land,  where  the  sky  came 
down. 

"  It  is  like  the  sea,  is  it  not  ?  "  said  Bell,  rising  up  in  the 
phaeton  and  steadying  herself  to  look  into  this  distant  world 
of  gold.  "  Don't  you  expect  to  find  the  masts  of  ships,  and 
sea-birds  flying  about  out  there  ?" 

And  then,  in  the  cool  and  fresh  evening,  with  the  dusk 
coming  on,  we  drove  up  the  valley  of  the  Severn,  by  Quat 
and  Quatford,  towards  our  resting-place  for  the  night.  As 
we  passed  by  Quatford  Castle,  the  river,  lying  amid  the  dark 
meadows,  had  caught  a  touch  of  crimson  fire  from  the  last 
reflection  of  the  sunset.  A  blue  mist  lay  about  the  sides  of 


172  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

the  abrupt  hill  on  which  the  town  of  Bridgenorth  is  pitched  ; 
but  as  we  wound  round  the  hill  to  gain  the  easiest  ascent, 
we  came  again  into  the  clear,  metallic  splendour  of  the  west. 
It  was  a  hard  pull  on  the  horses,  just  at  the  end  of  their 
day's  work,  was  this  steep  and  circuitous  ascent ;  but  at 
length  we  entered  the  rough  streets  of  the  old  town  ;  and 
in  the  fading  twilight  sought  out  the  yellow  and  comfortable 
glow  of  the  Crown  Hotel. 

"We  had  got  in  passing  a  vague  glimpse  of  a  wide  space 
around  an  old  town-house,  with  a  small  crowd  of  people 
collecting.  They  had  come  to  hear  the  playing  of  a 
Volunteer  band.  Therefore,  as  we  sat  down  to  dinner,  we 
had  some  very  good  music  being  played  to  us  from  without ; 
and  when  at  last  it  was  gone,  and  the  quaint  old  town  on 
the  top  of  the  hill  left  to  its  ordinary  silence,  we  found  it 
was  time  to  light  our  cigars  and  open  the  bezique-box. 

Probably  no  one  noticed  it  ;  but  it  is  a  curious  circum- 
stance that  Bell  had  apparently  forgotten  all  about  her 
determination  to  write  to  Arthur.  There  was  no  shadow  of 
a  cloud  on  her  face  ;  and  she  enjoyed  the  winning  of  various 
games — assisted  thereto  by  the  obvious  ministrations  of  the 
Lieutenant — with  as  much  delight  and  careless  amusement 
as  though  there  was  not  anywhere  in  the  world  a  young 
man  sitting  in  his  solitary  chamber  and  wishing  that  he  had 
never  been  born.  But  it  was  certainly  not  hard-heartedness 
that  gave  to  Bell  the  enjoyment  of  that  one  evening. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

A  SHREWSBURY  PLAY. 

"  But  (trust  me,  gentles !)  never  yet 
Was  dight  a  masquing  half  so  neat, 

Or  half  so  rich  before ; 
The  country  lent  the  sweet  perfumes, 
The  sea  the  pearl,  the  sky  the  plumes, 

The  town  its  silken  store." 

THE  Lieutenant  was  pensive.  He  and  I  had  gone  out 
for  a  turn  before  breakfast,  and  wandered  along  to  the  high 
promenade  which,  skirting  one  portion  of  the  lofty  town, 
looks  down  on  the  valley  of  the  Severn,  on  the  huddled  houses 
underneath  the  rocky  height,  and  the  bridge  spanning  the 


OF  A  PHAETON.  173 

stream.  It  was  a  bright  and  cool  morning  \  and  the 
landscape  that  lay  around  was  shining  in  the  sun. 

"England,"  he  said,  leaning  his  arms  on  the  stone 
parapet  of  the  walk,  "  is  a  very  pleasant  country  to  live  in, 
I  think." 

I  thanked  him  for  the  compliment. 

"  You  are  very  free  in  your  actions  here  :  you  do  what 
you  please.  Only  consider  how  you  are  at  this  moment." 

But  I  had  to  protest  against  our  young  Prussian  friend 
continually  regarding  this  excursion  as  the  normal  condition 
of  our  existence.  I  showed  him  that  we  were  not  always 
enjoying  life  in  this  fashion ;  that  a  good  deal  of  hard 
work  filled  the  long  interval  of  the  winter  months  ;  and 
that  even  Bell — whom  he  had  grown  to  regard  as  a  sort  of 
feature  of  English  scenery — a  wild  bird  for  ever  on  the 
wing  through  sunlight  and  green  leaves — wrorked  as  hard  as 
any  of  us. 

"  It  is  pleasant  to  be  able  to  play  dexterously  on  the  piano, 
or  the  guitar,  or  what  not ;  but  that  accomplishment  means 
imprisonment  with  hard  labour  stretching  over  years.  It  is 
very  nice  to  be  able  to  put  on  a  sheet  of  paper,  with  a  few 
rapid  touches,  the  outlines  of  a  scene  which  delights  you ; 
and  to  find  yourself  able  to  reproduce  that  afterwards  in 
water  or  oil,  and  have  it  publicly  exhibited  and  sold  ;  but  do 
you  know  how  much  work  it  involves  ?  Bell  is  a  most 
untiring  young  woman,  I  promise  you,  and  not  likely  to  fall 
asleep  in  counting  her  fingers." 

"  Oh,  I  am  sure  of  that,"  he  said,  absently.  "  She  has  too 
much  spirit,  too  much  life,  to  be  indolent.  But  I  was 
thinking — I  was  thinking  whether,  if  a  man  was  to  change 
his  country,  he  would  choose  England  out  of  all  other  countries 
to  live  in.  Here  it  is.  Your  people  in  England  who  only 
enjoy  themselves  must  be  very  rich,  must  they  not  ?  Is  it  a 
good  country,  I  wonder,  for  a  man  who  would  have  about 
800Z.  a  year  ?  " 

"  Not  without  some  occupation.     But  why  do  you  ask  ?  " 

He  only  stared  at  the  bushes  down  on  the  rocks,  and  at 
the  river  far  below  them. 

"  What  would  you  say,"  he  asked,  suddenly,  "  if  I  were  to 
come  and  live  in  England,  and  become  naturalized,  and 
never  go  back  to  my  native  country  again  ?  " 


174  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

"  And  give  up  your  profession,  with  all  its  interest  and 
excitement  ?  " 

He  was  silent  for  a  minute  or  two  ;  and  then  he  said — 

"  I  have  done  more  than  the  service  that  is  expected  from 
every  man  in  Prussia  ;  and  I  do  not  think  my  country  goes 
to  war  for  many  years  to  come.  About  the  excitement  of  a 
campaign  and  the  going  into  battle — well,  there  is  much 
mistake  about  that.  You  are  not  always  in  enthusiasm  ; 
the  long  marches,  the  wet  days,  the  waiting  for  months  in 
one  place — there  is  nothing  heroic  in  that.  And  when  you 
do  come  to  the  battle  itself, — come,  my  dear  friend,  I  will 
tell  you  something  about  it." 

He  seemed  to  wake  up  then.  He  rose  from  his  recumbent 
position,  and  took  a  look  round  the  shining  country  that  lay 
along  the  valley  of  the  Severn. 

"All  the  morning  before  the  battle,"  said  the  Lieutenant, 
"  you  have  great  gloom  ;  and  it  seems  as  if  the  day  is  dark 
overhead.  But  this  is  strange — that  you  think  you  can  see 
very  far,  and  you  can  see  all  your  friends  in  Germany,  and 
think  you  could  almost  speak  to  them.  You  expect  to  go 
forward  to  meet  the  enemy  ;  and  you  hate  him  that  he  is 
waiting  for  you  on  some  of  the  hills  or  behind  his  entrench- 
ments. Then  the  hurry  comes  of  getting  on  horseback  ;  and 
you  are  very  friendly  to  all  your  companions — and  they  are  all 
very  pleasant  and  laughing  at  this  time,  except  one  or  two, 
who  are  thinking  of  their  home.  Your  regiment  is  ordered 
forward  :  you  do  not  know  what  to  think  :  perhaps  you  wish 
the  enemy  would  run  away ;  or  that  your  regiment  is  not 
needed  ;  and  sometimes  you  have  great  wish  of  anger  towards 
him  ;  but  all  this  is  shifting,  gloomy,  uncertain,  that  you  do 
not  think  two  things  one  moment.  Then  you  hear  the  sound 
of  the  firing  ;  and  your  heart  beats  fast  for  a  little  while  ; 
and  you  think  of  all  your  friends  in  Germany  ;  and  this  is 
the  time  that  is  the  worst.  You  are  angry  with  all  the  men 
who  provoke  wars  in  their  courts  and  parliaments  ;  and  you 
think  it  is  a  shame  you  should  be  there  to  fight  for  them  ; 
and  you  look  at  the  pleasant  things  you  are  leaving  all 
behind  in  your  own  home,  just  as  if  you  were  never  to  see 
them  any  more.  That  is  a  very  wretched  and  miserable 
time ;  but  it  does  not  last  very  long  if  you  are  ordered  to 
advance  ;  and  then,  my  dear  friend,  I  can  assure  you  that 


OF  A  PHAETON.  175 

you  do  not  care  one  farthing  for  your  own  life — that  you 
forget  your  home  altogether,  and  you  think  no  more  of  your 
friends  ;  you  do  not  even  hate  the  enemy  in  front  any  more 
— it  is  all  a  stir,  and  life,  and  eagerness  ;  and  a  warm,  glad 
feeling  runs  all  through  your  veins  ;  and  when  the  great 
*  hurrah '  comes,  and  you  ride  forward,  you  think  no  more 
of  yourself  ;  you  say  to  yourself,  *  Here  is  for  my  good 
Fatherland  ! ' — and  then " 

A  sort  of  sob  stuck  in  the  throat  of  the  big  Lieutenant. 

"  Bah,"  said  he,  with  a  frown,  as  if  the  bright  morning 
and  the  fresh  air  had  done  him  an  injury,  "  what  is  the  use 
of  waiting  out  here,  and  killing  ourselves  with  hunger  ?  " 

Bell  was  writing  when  we  went  into  the  hotel.  As  we 
entered  she  hastily  shut  up  her  small  portfolio. 

"  Why  not  finish  your  letter,  Mademoiselle  ?  ",  he  said, 
gently.  "It  will  be  a  little  time  before  breakfast  comes 
in." 

"  I  can  finish  it  afterwards,"  said  the  girl,  looking  rather 
embarrassed. 

Of  course,  when  the  Lieutenant  perceived  that  the  atten- 
tion thus  drawn  to  the  letter  had  caused  her  some  confusion, 
he  immediately  rushed  into  another  subject,  and  said  to 
Queen  Titania,  with  a  fine  affectation  of  carelessness — • 

"You  will  laugh,  Madame,  at  our  having  yet  another 
adventure  in  a  stationer's  shop." 

"  I  think,"  said  my  Lady,  gravely,  "  that  I  must  put  a 
stop  to  these  wanderings  about  in  the  early  morning.  I 
cannot  quite  make  out  why  you  should  always  get  up  hours 
before  anybody  else  ;  but  I  find  that  generally  some  story  is 
revealed  afterwards  of  a  young  lady." 

"  But  there  is  no  young  lady  this  time,"  said  the  Lieu- 
tenant, "  but  a  very  worthy  man  whom  we  found  in  the 
stationer's  shop.  And  he  has  been  at  Sedan ;  and  he  has 
brought  back  the  breech  of  a  mitrailleuse  and  showed  it  all 
to  us  ;  and  he  has  written  a  small  book  about  his  being  in 
France,  and  did  present  us  with  a  copy  of  it,  and  would  not 
take  any  payment  for  it.  Oh,  he  is  a  very  remarkable  and 
intelligent  man  to  be  found  in  a  stationer's  shop  up  in  this 
curious  old  town  on  the  top  of  a  hill ;  but  then  I  discovered 
he  is  a  Scotchman  ;  and  do  you  not  say  here  that  a  Scotchman 
is  a  great  traveller,  and  is  to  be  found  everywhere  ?  And  I 


176  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

have  looked  into  the  little  book,  and  I  'think  it  very 
sensible  and  good,  and  a  true  account  of  what  he  has 
seen." 

"  Then  I  presume  he  extols  your  countrymen  ?  "  says  my 
Lady,  with  a  smile. 

"  Madame,"  replies  the  Lieutenant,  "  I  may  assure  you  of 
this,  that  a  man  who  has  been  in  a  campaign  and  seen  both 
the  armies,  does  not  think  either  army  an  army  of  angels 
and  the  other  an  army  of  demons.  To  believe  one  nation  to 
have  all  the  good,  and  another  nation  to  have  all  the  bad, 
that  can  only  be  believed  by  people  who  have  seen  none  of 
them.  I  think  my  friend  the  stationer  has  written  so  much 
of  what  he  saw,  that  he  had  no  time  for  stupid  imaginations 
about  the  character  of  two  whole  countries." 

At  this  moment  the  introduction  of  breakfast  broke  our 
talk  in  this  direction.  After  breakfast  Bell  finished  her 
letter.  She  asked  the  Lieutenant  to  get  it  stamped  and 
posted  for  her,  and  handed  it  openly  to  him.  But,  without 
looking  at  it,  he  must  have  known  that  it  was  addressed  to 
"  Arthur  Ashburton,  Esq.,  Essex  Court,  Temple." 

"Well,"  said  Bell,  coming  downstairs  with  her  hat  on, 
"  let  us  go  out  now,  and  see  the  town.  It  must  be  a  very 
pleasant  old  place.  And  the  day  is  so  fine ; — don't  you 
think  we  have  had  quite  exceptional  weather  hitherto, 
Count  von  Rosen  ?  " 

Of  course  he  said  the  weather  had  been  admirable  ;  but  how 
was  it  that  Bell  was  so  sure  beforehand  that  she  would  be 
pleased  with  Bridgenorth  ?  The  delight  was  already  in  her 
face,  and  beaming  in  her  eyes.  She  knew  the  weather  must 
be  fine.  She  was  certain  we  should  have  a  delicious  drive 
during  the  day  ;  and  was  positive  the  country  through  which 
we  had  to  pass  would  be  charming.  The  observant  reader 
will  remark  that  a  certain  letter  had  been  posted. 

Really,  Bridgenorth  was  pleasant  enough  on  this  bright 
morning,  albeit  the  streets  on  the  river-side  part  of  the  town 
were  distinctly  narrow,  dirty,  and  smoky.  First  of  all, 
however,  we  visited  the  crumbling  walls  of  Robert  de  Belesme's 
mighty  tower.  Then  we  took  the  women  round  the  high 
promenade  over  the  valley.  Then  we  went  down  through  a 
curious  and  precipitous  passage  hewn  out  of  the  sandstone 
hill  to  the  lower  part  of  the  town,  and  visited  the  old 


OF  A  PHAETON.  177 

building  in  which  Bishop  Percy  was  born,  the  inscription* 
on  which,  by  the  way,  is  a  standing  testimony  to  the  playful 
manner  in  which  this  nation  has  from  time  immemorial 
dealt  with  its  aspirates.  Then  we  clambered  up  the  steep 
streets  again  until  we  reached  the  great  central  square,  with 
its  quaint  town-house  and  old-fashioned  shops.  A  few 
minutes  thereafter  we  were  in  the  phaeton,  and  Castor  and 
Pollux  taking  us  into  the  open  country  again. 

"  Mademoiselle,"  said  the  Lieutenant — the  young  man 
was  like  a  mavis,  with  this  desire  of  his  to  sing  or  hear 
singing  just  after  his  morning  meal — "  you  have  not  sung 
to  us  anything  for  a  long  while  now." 

"  But  I  will  this  morning,  with  great  pleasure,"  said  Bell. 

"  Then,"  said  von  Rosen,  "  here  is  your  guitar.  When  I 
saw  you  come  down  to  go  out  this  morning,  I  said  to  myself, 
*  Mademoiselle  is  sure  to  sing  to-day.'  So  I  kept  out  the 
guitar-case." 

The  horses  pricked  up  their  ears.  The  strings  of  the 
guitar  twanged  out  a  few  notes.  The  fresh  breeze  blew  by 
from  the  fields  ;  and  as  we  drove  through  the  stillness  of 
one  or  two  straggling  woods,  Bell  sang — 

"  If  enemies  oppose  us, 

And  England  is  at  war 
With  any  foreign  nation, 

We  fear  not  wound  nor  scar ! 
To  humble  them,  come  on,  lads ! 

Their  flags  we'll  soon  lay  low ; 
Clear  the  way,  for  the  fray : 

Though  the  stormy  winds  do  blow ! " 

"  Mademoiselle,"  cried  the  Lieutenant, "  it  is  a  challenge." 
Bell  laughed,  and  suddenly  altered  the  key. 

"Fair  Hebe  I  left  with  a  cautious  design" — 
this  was  what  she  sang  now — • 

"  To  escape  from  her  charms  and  to  drown  love  in  wine ; 
I  tried  it,  but  found,  when  I  came  to  depart, 
The  wine  in  my  head,  but  still  love  in  my  heart." 

*  The  inscription  inside  the  door  of  this  old-fashioned  building, 
which  is  ornamented  by  bars  of  black  and  white,  and  peaked  gables, 
is  as  follows : — 

"  Except  the  Lord  BVILD  THE  OWSE 
The  Labourers  thereof  evail  nothing 
Erected  by  R  For  *  1580." 

N 


i;8  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

"  Well,"  said  Tita,  with  an  air  of  astonishment,  "  that  is 
a  pretty  song  for  a  young  lady  to  sing  !  " 

Bell  laid  down  the  guitar. 

"  And  what,"  I  demanded  of  Queen  Titania,  "  are  the 
sentiments  of  which  alone  a  young  lady  may  sing  ?  Not 
patriotism  ?  Not  love  ?  Not  despair  ?  Goodness  gracious  ! 
Don't  you  remember  what  old  Joe  Blatchers  said  when  he 
brought  us  word  that  some  woman  in  his  neighbourhood 
had  committed  suicide  ?  " 

"  What  did  he  say  ?  "  asked  the  Lieutenant  with  a  great 
curiosity. 

"  The  wretched  woman  had  drowned  herself  because  her 
husband  had  died  ;  and  old  Joe  brought  us  the  story  with 
the  serious  remark,  *  The  ladies  'as  their  feelins,  'asnt  they, 
sir,  arter  all  ?  '  Mayn't  a  young  lady  sing  of  anything  but 
the  joy  of  decorating  a  church  on  Christmas  Eve  ?  " 

"  I  have  never  been  taught  to  perceive  the  humour  of 
profanity,"  says  my  Lady,  with  a  serene  impassiveness. 

"  Curious,  if  true.  Perhaps  you  were  never  taught  that  a 
white  elephant  isn't  the  same  as  a  rainbow  or  a  pack  of 
cards  ?  " 

"  My  dear,"  says  Tita,  turning  to  Bell,  "  what  is  that 
French  song  that  you  brought  over  with  you  from 
Dieppe  ?  " 

Thus  appealed  to,  Bell  took  up  her  guitar,  and  sang  for 
us  a  very  pretty  song.  It  was  not  exactly  French,  to  be 
sure.  It  began — 

"  'Twas  frost  and  thro'  leet,  wid  a  greyming  o'  snaw, 
When  I  went  to  see  Biddy,  the  flow'r  o'  them  aw ; 
To  meet  was  agreed  on  at  Seymy'  deyke  milk, 
"Where  I  sauntered  wi'  mony  a  seegh  and  lang  luik." 

But  good  honest  Cumbrian  is  quite  as  foreign  to  most  of  us 
as  French  ;  and  no  exception  could  be  taken  to  the  senti- 
ment of  Bell's  ballad,  for  none  of  us  could  understand  six 
consecutive  words  of  it. 

Much-Wenlock  is  a  quiet  town.  It  is  about  as  quiet  as  the 
spacious  and  grassy  enclosure  in  which  the  magnificent 
ruins  of  its  old  monastery  stand  grey  and  black  in  the  sun- 
shine. There  are  many  strange  passages  and  courts  in  these 
noble  ruins  ;  and  as  you  wander  through  broken  arches,  and 


OF  A  PHAETON. 


179 


over  courtyards  half  hid  in  the  long  green  grass,  it  is  but 
natural  that  a  preference  for  solitude  should  betray  itself  in 
one  or  other  of  the  members  of  a  noisy  little  party.  We  lost 
sight  of  Bell  and  the  Lieutenant.  There  was  a  peacock 
strutting  through  the  grass,  and  making  his  resplendent  tail 
gleam  in  the  sunshine ;  and  they  followed  him,  I  think. 
When  we  came  upon  them  again,  Bell  was  seated  on  a  bit  of 
tumbled  pillar,  pulling  daisies  out  of  the  sward  and  plaiting 
them  ;  and  the  Lieutenant  was  standing  by  her  side,  talking 
to  her  in  a  low  voice.  It  was  no  business  of  ours  to 
interfere  with  this  pastoral  occupation.  Doubtless  he  spoke 
in  these  low  tones  because  of  the  great  silence  of  the  place. 
We  left  them  there,  and  had  another  saunter  before  we 
returned.  We  were  almost  sorry  to  disturb  them  ;  for 
they  made  a  pretty  group,  these  two  young  folks,  talking 
leisurely  to  each  other  under  the  solemn  magnificence  of  the 
grey  ruins  ;  while  the  sunlight  that  lit  up  the  ivy  on  the 
walls,  and  threw  black  shadows  under  the  arches  of  the 
crumbling  windows,  and  lay  warm  on  the  long  grass  around 
them,  touched  Bell's  cheek  too,  and  glimmered  down  one 
side  of  the  loose  and  splendid  masses  of  her  hair. 

Castor  and  Pollux  were  not  allowed  much  time  for  lunch  ; 
for,  as  the  young  people  had  determined  to  go  to  the  theatre 
on  reaching  Shrewsbury,  their  elders,  warned  by  a  long 
experience,  knew  that  the  best  preparation  for  going  to  a 
country  theatre  is  to  dine  before  setting  out.  My  Lady  did 
not  anticipate  much  enjoyment ;  but  Bell  was  positive  we 
should  be  surprised. 

"  We  have  been  out  in  the  country  so  much — seeing  so 
much  of  the  sunlight  and  the  green  trees,  and  living  at  those 
little  inns — that  we  ought  to  have  a  country  theatre  as  well. 
Who  knows  but  that  we  may  have  left  all  our  London  ideas 
of  a  play  in  London  ;  and  find  ourselves  quite  delighted 
with  the  simple  folk  who  are  always  uttering  good  senti- 
ments, and  quite  enraged  with  the  bad  man  who  is  wishing 
them  ill.  I  think  Count  von  Rosen  was  quite  right " 

Of  course  Count  von  Rosen  was  quite  right ! 

" about  commonplace  things  only  having  become 

commonplace  through  our  familiarity  with  them,"  continued 
Miss  Bell ;  "  perhaps  we  may  find  ourselves  going  back  a 
bit,  and  being  as  much  impressed  by  a  country  drama  as  any 

N  2 


I  So  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

of  the  farmer-folk  who  do  not  see  half-a-dozen  plays  in  their 
life.  And  then,  you  know,  what  a  big  background  we  shall 
have  ! — not  the  walls  of  the  little  theatre,  but  all  the  great 
landscape  we  have  been  coming  through.  Eound  about  us 
we  shall  see  the  Severn,  and  the  long  woods,  and  Broadway 
Hill " 

"And  not  forgetting  Bourton  Hill,"  interposed  the 
Lieutenant.  "If  only  they  do  give  us  a  good  moonlight 
scene  like  that,  we  shall  be  satisfied." 

"  Oh  no  !  "  said  Bell  gravely — she  was  evidently  launch- 
ing into  one  of  her  unconscious  flights,  for  her  eyes  took  no 
more  notice  of  us,  but  were  looking  wistfully  at  the  spacious 
country  around  us — "that  is  asking  far  too  much.  It  is 
easier  for  you  to  make  the  moonlight  scene  than  for  the 
manager.  You  have  only  to  imagine  it  is  there  :  shut  your 
eyes  a  little  bit,  and  fancy  you  hear  the  people  on  the  stage 
talking  in  a  real  scene,  with  the  real  country  around,  and  the 
real  moonlight  in  the  air.  And  then  you  grow  to  believe  in 
the  people ;  and  you  forget  that  they  are  only  actors  and 
actresses  working  for  their  salaries  ;  and  you  think  it  is  a 
true  story,  like  the  stories  they  tell  up  in  Westmoreland  of 
things  that  have  happened  in  the  villages  years  ago.  That 
is  one  of  the  great  pleasures  of  driving,  is  it  not  ? — that  it 
gives  you  a  sense  of  wide  space.  There  is  a  great  deal  of 
air  and  sky  about  it ;  and  you  have  a  pleasant  and  easy  way 
of  getting  through  it,  as  if  you  were  really  sailing  ;  whereas 
the  railway  whisks  you  through  the  long  intervals,  and 
makes  your  journey  a  succession  of  dots.  That  is  an 
unnatural  way  of  travelling,  that  staccato  method  of- — 

Here  Mademoiselle  caught  sight  of  Queen  Tita  gravely 
smiling,  and  immediately  paused  to  find  out  what  she  had 
been  saying. 

"  Well  ?  "  she  said,  expecting  to  be  corrected  or  reproved, 
and  calmly  resolved  to  bear  the  worst. 

But  how  could  Tita  explain  ?  She  had  been  amused  by 
the  manner  in  which  the  young  lady  had  unconsciously 
caught  up  a  trick  of  the  Lieutenant's  in  the  construction 
of  his  sentences — the  use  of  "  that "  as  the  introductory 
nominative,  the  noun  coming  in  afterwards.  For  the 
moment  the  subject  dropped,  in  the  excitement  of  our 
getting  once  more  back  to  the  Severn ;  and  when  Bell 


OF  A  PHAETON.  tSi 

spoke  next,  it  was  to  ask  the  Lieutenant  whether  the 
Wrekin — a  solitary,  abrupt,  and  conical  hill  on  our  right, 
which  was  densely  wooded  to  the  top — did  not  in  a  milder 
form  reproduce  the  odd  masses  of  rock  that  stud  the  great 
plain  west  of  the  Lake  of  Constance. 

A  pleasant  drive  through  a  fine  stretch  of  open  country 
took  us  into  Shrewsbury  ;  and  here,  having  got  over  the 
bridge  and  up  the  steep  thoroughfares  to  our  hotel,  dinner 
was  immediately  ordered.  When  at  length  we  made  our 
way  round  to  the  theatre  it  was  about  half -past  seven,  and 
the  performance  was  to  commence  at  twenty  minutes  to 
eight. 

"  Oh,  Bell ! "  says  my  Lady,  as  we  enter  the  building. 
She  looks  blankly  round.  From  the  front  of  the  dress  circle 
we  are  peering  into  a  great  hollow  place,  dimly  lighted  by 
ten  lamps,  each  of  one  burner,  that  throw  a  sepulchral  light 
on  long  rows  of  wooden  benches,  on  a  sad-coloured  curtain, 
and  an  empty  ;  orchestra.  How  is  all  the  force  of  Bell's 
imagination  to  drive  off  these  walls  and  this  depressing 
array  of  carpentry,  and  substitute  for  them  a  stage  of  green- 
sward and  walls  composed  of  the  illimitable  sky  ?  There  is 
an  odour  of  escaped  gas,  and  of  oranges  ;  but  when  did  any 
people  ever  muster  up  enough  of  gaiety  to  eat  an  orange  in 
this  gloomy  hall  ? 

7.30,  by  Shrewsbury  clock. — An  old  gentleman  and  a 
boy  appear  in  the  orchestra.  The  former  is  possessed  of  a 
bass-viol ;  the  latter  proceeds  to  tune  up  a  violin. 

7.40 — which  is  the  time  for  commencing  the  play — three 
ladies  come  into  the  pit.  The  first  is  a  farmer's  wife,  fat, 
ostentatious,  happy  in  a  black  silk  that  rustles  ;  the  two 
others  are  apparently  friends  of  hers  in  the  town,  who  follow 
her  meekly,  and  take  their  seats  with  a  frightened  air.  She 
sits  down  with  a  proud,  gesture  ;  and  this  causes  a  thin 
crackle  of  laughter  and  a  rude  remark  far  up  in  the  semi- 
darkness  overhead,  so  that  we  gather  that  there  are  probably 
two  persons  in  the  upper  gallery. 

7.45. — Two  young  ladies — perhaps  shop-girls,  but  their 
extreme  blushing  gives  them  a  countrified  look — come  into 
the  pit,  talk  in  excited  whispers  to  each  other,  and  sit 
down  with  an  uncomfortable  air  of  constraint.  At  this 
moment  the  orchestra  startles  us  by  dashing  into  a  waltz 


182  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

from  "  Faust."  There  are  now  five  men  and  a  boy  in  this 
tuneful  choir.  One  of  them  starts  vigorously  on  the  cornet  ; 
but  invariably  fails  to  get  beyond  the  first  few  notes,  so  that 
the  flute  beats  him  hollow.  Again  and  again  the  cornet 
strikes  in  at  the  easy  parts  ;  but  directly  he  subsides  again, 
and  the  flute  has  it  all  his  own  way.  The  music  ceases. 
The  curtain  is  drawn  up.  The  play  has  begun. 

The  first  act  is  introductory.  There  is  a  farmer,  whose 
chief  business  it  is  to  announce  that  "  his  will  is  law  ; "  and 
he  has  a  son  addressed  throughout  as  Weelyam,  whom  he 
wishes  to  marry  a  particular  girl.  The  son,  of  course,  has 
married  another.  The  villain  appears,  and  takes  us  into  his 
confidence  ;  giving  us  to  understand  that  a  worse  villain 
never  trod  the  earth.  He  has  an  interview  with  the  farmer  ; 
but  this  is  suddenly  broken  off — a  whistle  in  some  part  of 
the  theatre  is  heard,  and  we  are  conveyed  to  an  Italian  lake, 
all  shining  with  yellow  villas  and  blue  skies. 

"  That  is  the  problem  stated,"  said  the  Lieutenant  ;  "  now 
we  shall  have  the  solution.  But  do  you  find  the  walls  going 
away  yet,  Mademoiselle  ?  " 

"  I  think  it  is  very  amusing,"  said  Bell,  with  a  bright 
look  on  her  face.  Indeed,  if  she  had  not  brought  in  with 
her  sufficient  influence  from  the  country  to  resolve  the 
theatre  into  thin  air,  she  had  imbibed  a  vast  quantity  of 
good  health  and  spirits,  so  that  she  was  prepared  to  enjoy 
anything. 

The  plot  thickens.  The  woman-villain  appears — a  lady 
dressed  in  deep  black,  who  tells  us  in  an  awful  voice  that 
she  was  the  mistress  of  Weelyam  in  France — that  being  the 
country  naturally  associated  in  the  mind  of  the  dramatist 
with  crimes  of  this  character.  She  is  in  a  pretty  state  when 
she  learns  that  "Weelyam  is  married  ;  and  events  are  plainly 
marching  on  to  a  crisis.  It  comes.  The  marriage  is 
revealed  to  the  farmer,  who  delivers  a  telling  curse,  which 
is  apparently  launched  at  the  upper  gallery,  but  which 
is  really  meant  to  confound  "Weelyam ;  then  the  old  man 
falls — there  is  a  tableau — the  curtain  comes  down,  and  the 
band,  by  some  odd  stroke  of  luck,  plays  "  Home,  sweet 
home,"  as  an  air  descriptive  of  "Weelyam's  banishment. 

We  become  objects  of  curiosity,  now  that  the  adventures 
of  the  farmer's  son  are  removed.  There  are  twenty-one 


OF  A  PHAETON.  183 

people  in  the  pit — representing  conjointly  a  solid  guinea 
transferred  to  the  treasury.  One  or  two  gay  young  men 
with  canes,  and  jwith  their  hats  much  on  the  side  of  their 
heads,  have  entered  the  dress-circle,  stared  for  a  minute  or 
two  at  the  stage,  and  retired. 

They  are  probably  familiar  with  rustic  drama,  and  hold  it 
in  contempt.  A  good  ballet,  now,  would  be  more  in  their 
way,  performed  by  a  troupe  of  young  ladies  whose  names  are 
curiously  like  English  names,  with  imposing  French  and 
Italian  terminations.  A  gentleman  comes  into  the  pit  along 
with  a  friend,  nods  familiarly  to  the  attendant,  deposits  his 
friend,  utters  a  few  facetious  remarks,  and  leaves  :  can  it  be 
that  he  is  a  reporter  of  a  local  newspaper,  dowered  with  the 
privilege  of  free  admission  for  "  himself  and  one  "  ?  There 
must  at  least  be  three  persons  in  the  upper  gallery  ;  for  a  new 
voice  is  [heard,  calling  out  the  graceful  but  not  unfamiliar 
name  of  "  Polly."  One  of  the  two  rose-red  maidens  in  front 
of  us  timidly  looks  up,  and  is  greeted  with  a  shout  of  recog-- 
nition  and  laughter.  She  drops  into  her  old  position  in  a 
second,  and  hangs  down  her  head  ;  while  her  companion 
protests  in  an  indignant  way  in  order  to  comfort  her.  The 
curtain  rises. 

The  amount  of  villainy  in  this  Shrewsbury  drama  is  really 
getting  beyond  a  joke.  We  are  gradually  rising  in  the  scale 
of  dark  deeds,  until  the  third  villain,  who  now  appears, 
causes  the  other  two  to  be  regarded  as  innocent  lambs. 
This  new  performer  of  crime  is  a  highwayman  ;  and  his 
very  first  act  is  to  shoot  "Weelyam's  father  and  rob  him  of 
his  money.  But  lo  !  the  French  adventuress  drops  from  the 
clouds  ;  the  highwayman  is  her  husband  ;  she  tells  him  of 
her  awful  deeds,  among  them  of  her  having  murdered  "  her 
mistress  the  Archduchess  ;  "  and  then,  as  she  vows  she  will 
go  and  destroy  Weelyam,  a  tremendous  conflict  of  everybody 
ensues,  and  a  new  scene  being  run  on,  we  are  suddenly 
whirled  up  to  Balmoral  Castle. 

'"I  am  beginning  to  be  very  anxious  about  the  good 
people,"  remarked  Tita.  "  I  am  afraid  William  will  be 
killed." 

"Unless  he  has  as  many  lives  as  Plutarch,  he  can't 
escape,"  said  Bell. 

"  As  for  the  old  farmer,"  observed  the  Lieutenant  "  he, 


184  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

survives  apoplectic  fits  and  pistol-shots  very  well — oh,  very 
well  indeed.  He  is  a  very  good  man  in  a  play.  He  is  sure 
to  last  to  the  end." 

Well,  we  were  near  the  end  ;  and  author,  carpenter,  and 
scene-painter  had  done  their  dead  best  to  render  the  final 
scene  impressive.  It  was  in  a  cavern.  Cimmerian  darkness 
prevailed.  The  awful  lady  in  black  haunts  the  gloomy 
byways  of  the  rocks,  communing  with  herself,  and  twisting 
her  arms  so  that  the  greatest  agony  is  made  visible.  But 
what  is  this  hooded  and  trembling  figure  that  approaches  ? 
Once  in  the  cavern,  the  hood  is  thrown  off,  and  the  palpi- 
tating heroine  comes  forward  for  a  second  to  the  low  foot- 
lights, merely  that  there  shall  be  no  mistake  about  her 
identity.  The  gloom  deepens.  The  young  and  innocent  wife 
encounters  the  French  adventuress  ;  the  woman  who  did  not 
scruple  to  murder  her  mistress  the  Archduchess  seizes  the 
girl  by  her  hands — shrieks  are  heard — the  two  figures  twist 
round  one  another — then  a  mocking  shout  of  laughter,  and 
Weelyam's  wife  is  precipitated  into  the  hideous  waters  of 
the  lake  !  But  lo  !  the  tread  of  innumerable  feet ;  from  all 
quarters  of  the  habitable  globe  stray  wanderers  arrive  ;  with 
a  shout  Weelyam  leaps  into  the  lake  ;  and  when  it  is  dis- 
covered that  he  has  saved  his  wife,  behold  !  everybody  in 
the  play  is  found  to  be  around  him  ;  with  weeping  and 
with  laughter  all  the  story  is  told  ;  and  the  drama  ends  in 
the  most  triumphant  and  comfortable  manner,  in  the  middle 
of  the  night,  in  a  cavern,  a  hundred  miles  from  anywhere. 

"  No,"  said  Queen  Titania,  distinctly,  "  I  will  not  stay  to 
see  La  Champagne  Ballet  or  the  Pas  de  Fascination" 

So  there  was  nothing  for  it  but  to  take  the  ungrateful 
creature  back  to  the  hotel,  and  give  her  tea  and  a  novel. 
As  for  the  billiard-room  in  that  hotel,  it  is  one  of  the  best 
between  Holborn  and  the  Canongate.  The  Lieutenant 
begs  to  add,  that  he  can  recommend  the  beer. 


OF  A  PHAETON.  185 

CHAPTER  XV. 

LA  PATRIE  EN   DANGER. 

"  Sometimes  on  lonely  mountain-meres, 

I  find  a  magic  bark; 
I  leap  on  board :  no  helmsman  steers 
I  float  till  all  is  dark." 

I  SIT  down  to  write  this  chapter  with  a  determination  to 
be  generous,  calm,  and  modest  in  the  last  degree.  The 
man  who  would  triumph  over  the  wife  of  his  bosom  merely 
to  have  the  pleasure  of  saying  "  I  told  you  so,"  does  not 
deserve  to  have  his  path  through  life  sweetened  by  any  such 
tender  companionship.  Far  be  it  from  me  to  recall  the 
earnest  protestations  which  my  Lady  affixed  to  the  first 
portion  of  this  narrative.  Not  for  worlds  would  I  inquire 
into  her  motives  for  being  so  anxious  to  see  Arthur  go. 
The  ways  of  a  woman  ought  to  be  intricate,  occult,  perplex- 
ing, if  only  to  preserve  something  of  the  mystery  of  life 
around  her,  and  to  serve  her,  also,  as  a  refuge  from  the 
coarse  and  rude  logic  of  the  actual  world.  The  foolish 
person  who,  to  prove  himself  right,  would  drive  his  wife 
into  a  corner,  and  demonstrate  to  her  that  she  was  wrong — 
that  she  had  been  guilty  of  small  prevarications,  of  trifling 
bits  of  hypocrisy,  and  of  the  use  of  various  arts  to  conceal 
her  real  belief  and  definite  purpose — the  man  who  would 
thus  wound  the  gentle  spirit  by  his  side  to  secure  the  petty 
gratification  of  proving  himself  to  have  been  something  of  a 
twopenny-halfpenny  prophet — But  these  remarks  are  pre- 
mature at  the  present  moment,  and  I  go  on  to  narrate  the 
events  which  happened  on  the  day  of  our  leaving  Shrews- 
bury, and  getting  into  the  solitary  region  of  the  meres. 

"  I  have  received  a  telegram  from  Arthur,"  says  Bell, 
calmly  :  and  the  pink  sheet  is  lying  on  the  breakfast-table 
before  her. 

"  How  did  you  get  it  ?  "  says  my  Lady,  with  some  surprise. 

"  At  the  post-office." 

"  Then  you  have  been  out !  " 

"  Yes,  we  went  for  a  short  walk,  after  having  waited  for 
you,"  says  Bell,  looking  down. 

"  Oh,  Madame,"  says   the  Lieutenant,  coming  forward 


1 86  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

from  the  fireplace,  "  you  must  not  go  away  from  the  town 
without  seeing  it  well.  It  is  handsome,  and  the  tall  poplars 
down  by  the  side  of  the  river,  they  are  worth  going  to  see 
by  themselves."  • 

"  It  was  very  pretty  this  morning,"  continues  Bell, 
"  when  the  wind  was  blowing  about  the  light  blue  smoke, 
and  the  sun  was  shining  down  on  the  slates  and  the  clumps 
of  trees.  We  went  to  a  height  on  the  other  side  of  the 
river,  and  I  have  made  a  sketch  of  it •" 

"  Pray,"  says  my  Lady,  regarding  our  ward  severely, 
"  when  did  you  go  out  this  morning  ?  " 

"  Perhaps  about  an  hour  and  a  half  ago,"  replies  Bell 
carelessly  ;  "  I  don't  exactly  know." 

"  More  than  that,  I  think,"  says  the  Lieutenant,  "  for  I 
did  smoke  two  cigars  before  we  came  back.  It  is  much  to 
our  credit  to  get  up  so  early,  and  not  anything  to  be  blamed 
of." 

"  I  am  glad  Bell  is  improving  in  that  respect,"  retorts  my 
Lady,  with  a  wicked  smile  ;  and  then  she  adds,  "  "Well  ?  " 

"  He  has  started,"  is  the  reply  to  that  question. 

"  And  is  going  by  another  route  ?  " 

"  Yes  :  in  a  dog-cart — by  himself.  Don't  you  think  it  is 
very  foolish  of  him,  Tita  ?  You  know  what  accidents 
occur  with  those  dog-carts." 

"Mademoiselle,  do  not  alarm  yourself,"  says  the  Lieu- 
tenant, folding  up  his  newspaper.  "  It  is  quite  true  what 
Madame  said  yesterday,  that  there  are  so  many  accidents  in 
driving,  and  so  very  seldom  anyone  hurt.  You  ask  your 
friends — yes,  they  have  all  had  accidents  in  their  riding  and 
driving  ;  they  have  all  been  in  great  danger,  but  what  have 
they  suffered  ? — Nothing  !  Sometimes  a  man  is  killed — 
yes,  one  out  of  several  millions  in  the  year.  And  if  he 
tumbles  over — which  is  likely  if  he  does  not  know  much  of 
horses  and  driving — what  then  ?  No,  there  is  no  fear  ;  we 
shall  see  him  some  day  very  well,  and  go  on  all  together  !  " 

"  Oh,  shall  we  ?  "  says  my  Lady,  evidently  regarding  this 
as  a  new  idea. 

"  Certainly.  Do  you  think  he  goes  that  way  always  ? 
Impossible.  He  will  tire  of  it.  He  will  study  the  roads 
across  to  meet  us.  He  will  overtake  us  with  his  light 
little  dog-cart  ;  we  shall  have  his  company  along  the  road." 


OF  A  PHAETON.  187 

Tita  did  not  at  all  look  so  well  satisfied  with  this  prospect 
of  meeting  an  old  friend  as  she  might  have  done. 

"  And  when  are  you  to  hear  from  him  next  ?  "  I  inquire 
of  Mademoiselle. 

"  He  will  either  write  or  telegraph  to  each  of  the  big 
towns  along  our  route,  on  the  chance  of  the  message  inter- 
cepting us  somewhere  ;  and  so  we  shall  know  where  he  is." 

"  And  he  has  really  started  ?  " 

Bell  placed  the  telegram  in  my  hands.  It  was  as 
follows  : — 

"  Have  set  out  by  Hatfteld,  Huntingdon,  and  York,  for 
Edinburgh.  Shall  follow  the  real  old  coach-road  to  Scotland ; 
and  am  certain  to  find  much  entertainment" 

"  For  man  and  beast,"  struck  in  the  Lieutenant.  "  And 
I  know  of  a  friend  of  mine  travelling  in  your  country  who 
went  into  one  of  these  small  inns,  and  put  up  his  horse, 
and  when  they  brought  him  in  his  luncheon  to  the  parlour, 
he  only  looked  at  it  and  said,  '  Very  good,  ivaiter  •  this  is 
very  nice  ;  hut  ivhere  is  the  entertainment  for  the  man  ?  ' ' 

I  continued  to  read  the  telegram  aloud — 

"Shall  probably  ~be  in  Edinburgh  before  you;  but  will, 
telegraph  or  write  to  each  big  town  along  your  route,  that  you 
may  let  me  Jcnoiv  tvhere  you  are" 

"  It  is  very  obliging,"  says  the  Lieutenant,  with  a  shrug 
of  his  shoulders. 

"  It  is  quite  certain,"  observes  my  Lady,  with  decision, 
"  that  he  must  not  accompany  us  in  his  dog-cart  ;  for  we 
shall  arrive  at  plenty  of  inns  where  they  could  not  possibly 
put  up  three  horses  and  so  many  people." 

"  It  would  have  been  so,"  said  the  Lieutenant,  "  at  the 
place  on  the  top  of  the  hill — Bourton  was  it  called,  yes  ?  " 

The  mere  notion  of  Arthur  coming  in  to  spoil  the  enjoy- 
ment of  that  rare  evening  was  so  distressing  that  we  all 
took  refuge  in  breakfast ;  after  which  we  went  for  a  long 
and  leisurely  stroll  through  Shrewsbury  ;  and  then  had 
Castor  and  Pollux  put  into  the  phaeton.  It  seemed  now  to 
us  to  matter  little  at  what  town  we  stayed.  We  had  almost 
begun  to  forget  the  various  points  of  the  journey.  It  was 
enough  that  some  hospitable  place — whether  it  were  city, 
town,  or  hamlet — afforded  us  shelter  for  the  night,  that  on 
the  next  morning  we  could  issue  forth  again  into  the  sweet- 


i88  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

smelling  country  air,  and  have  all  the  fair  green  world  to 
ourselves.  We  looked  with  a  lenient  eye  upon  the  great 
habitations  of  men.  What  if  a  trifle  of  coal-smoke  hung 
about  the  house-tops,  and  if  the  streets  were  not  quite  so 
clean  as  they  might  be  ?  We  suffered  little  from  these 
inconveniences.  They  only  made  us  rejoice  the  more  to  get 
out  into  the  leafy  lanes,  where  the  air  was  fresh  with  the 
scent  of  the  bean-fields  and  the  half -dried  hay.  And  when 
a  town  happened  to  be  picturesque — and  it  was  our  good 
fortune  to  find  a  considerable  number  of  interesting  cities 
along  our  line  of  route — combining  with  its  steep  streets, 
its  old-fashioned  houses,  and  its  winding  river  and  banks, 
a  fair  proportion  of  elms  and  poplars  scattered  about  in 
clumps  to  mar  the  monotony  of  the  grey  fronts  and  the 
blue  slates,  we  paid  such  a  tribute  of  admiration  as  could 
only  be  obtained  from  people  who  knew  they  would  soon  be 
emancipated  from  the  din  and  clamour,  the  odour  and  the 
squalor,  of  thoroughfares  and  pavements. 

Bell,  sitting  very  erect,  and  holding  the  whip  and  reins 
in  the  most  accurate  and  scientific  fashion,  was  driving 
us  leisurely  up  the  level  and  pleasant  road  leading  from 
Shrewsbury  to  Ellesmere.  The  country  was  now  more  open 
and  less  hilly  than  that  through  which  we  had  recently  come. 
Occasionally,  as  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Harmer  Hill,  we 
drove  by  long  woods  ;  but  for  the  most  part  our  route  lay 
between  spacious  meadows,  fields,  and  farms,  with  the 
horizon  around  lying  blue  and  dark  under  the  distant  sky. 
The  morning  had  gradually  become  overcast,  and  the  various 
greens  of  the  landscape  were  deepened  by  the  placid  grey 
overhead.  There  was  little  wind  ;  but  we  were  conscious  of 
a  prevailing  coolness  that  seemed  to  have  something  of 
premonitory  moisture  in  it. 

Yet  how  the  birds  sang  under  the  silence  of  that  cold 
grey  sky  !  We  seemed  to  hear  all  the  sounds  within  a  great 
compass  ;  and  these  were  exclusively  the  innumerable  notes 
of  various  warblers — in  the  hedges,  and  in  the  road-side 
trees,  far  away  in  woods,  or  hidden  up  in  the  level  greyness 
of  the  clouds  :  Tewi,  teivi,  trrrr-weet! — droom,  droom, 
pliloee  — tuck,  tuck,  tuck,  tuck,  feer  !  • — that  was  the  silvery 
chorus  from  thousands  of  throats  ;  and,  under  the  darkness 
of  the  clouded  sky,  the  leaves  of  the  trees  and  the  woods 


OF  A  PHAETON.  189 

seemed  to  hang  motionless  in  order  to  listen.  Now  and  then 
Bell  picked  out  the  call  of  a  thrush  or  a  blackbird  from  the 
almost  indistinguishable  mass  of  melody  ;  but  it  seemed  to  us 
that  all  the  fields  and  hedges  had  but  one  voice  ;  and  that  it 
was  clear,  and  sweet,  and  piercing,  in  the  strange  silence 
reigning  over  the  land. 

So  we  rolled  along  the  unfrequented  road,  occasionally 
passing  a  wayside  tavern,  a  farmhouse,  or  a  cluster  of 
cottages,  until  about  noon  we  caught  a  glimpse  of  a  stretch 
of  grey  water.  On  this  lonely  mere  no  boat  was  to  be  seen, 
nor  any  house  on  its  banks,  merely  a  bit  of  leaden-coloured 
water  placed  amid  the  soft  and  low-lying  woods.  Then 
we  caught  the  glimmer  of  another  sheet  of  cold  grey  ;  and  by 
and  by,  driving  under  and  through  an  avenue  of  trees,  we 
came  full  in  sight  of  Ellesmere. 

The  small  lake  looked  rather  dismal  just  then.  There 
was  a  slight  stirring  of  wind  on  its  surface,  which  destroyed 
the  reflection  of  the  woods  along  its  shores,  so  that  the  water 
was  pretty  much  the  counterpart  of  the  gloomy  sky  above. 
At  this  moment,  too,  the  moisture  in  the  air  began  to  touch 
our  faces,  and  everything  portended  a  shower.  Bell  drove 
us  past  the  mere  and  on  to  the  small  village,  where  Castor 
and  Pollux  were  safely  lodged  in  the  stables  of  the 
"  Bridgewater  Arms." 

"We  had  got  into  shelter  just  in  time.  Down  came  the 
rain  with  a  will ;  but  we  were  unconcernedly  having 
luncheon  in  a  long  apartment  which  the  landlord  had 
recently  added  on  to  his  premises.  Then  we  darted  across 
the  yard  to  the  billiard-room,  where  Bell  and  my  Lady 
having  taken  up  lofty  positions  in  order  to  overlook  the 
tournament,  we  proceeded  to  knock  the  balls  about  until  the 
shower  should  cease. 

The  rain,  however,  showed  no  symptoms  of  leaving  off,  so 
we  resolved  to  remain  at  Ellesmere  that  night  ;  and  the  rest 
of  the  afternoon  was  spent  in  getting  up  arrears  of  corre- 
spondence and  similar  work.  It  was  not  until  after  dinner 
that  it  was  found  the  rain-clouds  had  finally  gathered 
themselves  together  ;  and  then,  when,  we  went  out  for  a  stroll, 
in  obedience  to  Bell's  earnest  prayer,  the  evening  had  drawn 
on  apace. 

The  darkening  waters  of  the  lake  were  now  surrounded  by 


190  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

low  clouds  of  white  mist,  that  hung  about  the  still  and  wet 
woods.  From  the  surface  of  the  mere,  too,  a  faint  vapour 
seemed  to  rise,  so  that  the  shores  on  the  other  side  had 
grown  dim  and  vague.  The  trees  were  still  dropping  large 
drops  into  the  plashing  road  ;  runnels  of  water  showed  how 
heavy  the  rain  had  been  ;  and  it  seemed  as  if  the  grey  and 
ghostly  plain  of  the  lake  were  still  stirred  by  the  commotion 
of  the  showers.  The  reflection  of  a  small  yacht  out  from,  the 
shore  was  blurred  and  indistinct  ;  and  underneath  the  wooded 
island  beyond  there  only  reigned  a  deeper  gloom  on  the 
mere. 

Of  course,  no  reasonable  person  could  have  thought  of 
going  out  for  a  row  on  this  damp  evening  ;  but  Bell  having 
expressed  some  wish  of  the  kind,  the  Lieutenant  forthwith 
declared  we  should  soon  have  a  boat,  however  late  the  hour. 
He  dragged  us  through  a  wet  garden  to  a  house  set  amid 
trees  by  the  side  of  the  lake.  He  summoned  a  worthy 
woman,  and  overcame  her  wonder  and  objections  and 
remonstrances  in  about  a  couple  of  minutes.  In  a  very  short 
space  of  time  we  found  ourselves  in  a  massive  and  unwieldy 
punt,  out  in  the  middle  of  this  grey  sheet  of  water,  with  the 
chill  darkness  of  night  rapidly  descending. 

"  "We  shall  all  have  neuralgia,  and  rheumatism,  and  colds 
to-morrow,"  said  my  Lady,  contentedly.  "  And  simply 
because  of  this  mad  girl,  who  thinks  she  can  see  ghosts 
wherever  there  is  a  little  mist.  Bell,  do  you  remember — 

Tita  stopped  suddenly,  and  grasped  my  arm.  A  white 
something  had  suddenly  borne  down  upon  us  ;  and  not  for 
a  second  or  two  did  we  recognize  the  fact  that  it  was 
merely  a  swan,  bent  on  a  mission  of  curiosity.  Far  away 
beyond  the  solitary  animal  there  now  became  visible  a  faint 
line  of  white,  and  we  knew  that  there  the  members  of  his 
tribe  were  awaiting  his  report. 

The  two  long  oars  plashed  in  the  silence  ;  we  glided 
onwards  through  the  cold  mists ;  and  the  woods  of  the 
opposite  shore  were  now  coming  near.  How  long  we 
floated  thus,  through  the  gloomy  vapours  of  the  lake,  I 
cannot  tell.  We  were  bent  on  no  particular  errand ;  and 
somehow  the  extreme  silence  was  grateful  to  us.  But  what 
was  this  new  light  that  was  seen  to  be  stealing  up  behind  the 
trees,  a  faint  glow  that  began  to  tell  upon  the  sky,  and  reveal 


OF  A  PHAETON.  191 

to  us  the  conformation  of  the  clouds  ?  The  mists  of  the 
lake  deepened  ;  but  the  sky  lightened ;  and  we  could  see 
breaks  in  ifc,  long  stripes  of  a  soft  and  pale  yellow.  The 
faint  suffusion  of  golden  light  seemed  to  lend  a  little 
warmth  to  the  damp  and  chill  atmosphere.  Bell  had  not 
uttered  a  word.  She  had  been  watching  this  faint  splendour 
with  patient  eyes,  only  turning  at  times  to  see  how  the 
island  was  becoming  more  distinct  in  the  darkness.  And 
then  more  and  more  rapidly  the  radiance  spread  up  and 
over  the  south-east ;  the  clouds  got  thinner  and  thinner  ; 
until  all  at  once  we  saw  the  white  glimmer  of  the  disc  of 
the  moon  leap  into  a  long  crevice  in  the  dark  sky.  And 
1  o  !  all  the  scene  around  us  was  changed  ;  the  mists  were 
gradually  dispersed  and  driven  to  the  shores  ;  the  trees  on 
the  island  became  sharp,  black  bars  against  a  flood  of  light ; 
and  on  the  dark  bosom  of  the  water  lay  a  long  lane  of 
silver,  intertwisting  itself  with  millions  of  gleaming  lines, 
and  flashing  on  the  ripples  that  went  quivering  back  from 
the  hull  of  our  boat.  We  were  floating  on  an  enchanted 
lake,  set  far  away  amid  these  solitary  woods. 

"  Every  day,  I  think,"  said  Bell,  "  we  come  to  some- 
thing more  beautiful  in  this  journey." 

"  Mademoiselle,"  said  the  Lieutenant,  suddenly,  "  your 
country  it  has  been  too  much  for  me  ;  I  have  resolved  to 
come  to  live  here  always,  and  in  five  years,  if  I  choose  it,  I 
shall  be  able  to  be  naturalized,  and  consider  England  as  my 
own  country." 

The  moonlight  was  touching  softly  at  this  moment  the 
outlines  of  Bell's  face,  but  the  rest  of  the  face  was  in 
shadow,  and  we  could  not  see  what  evidence  of  surprise  was 
written  there. 

"  You  are  not  serious  ?  "  she  said, 

"  I  am." 

"And  you  mean  to  give  up  your  country  because  you 
like  the  scenery  of  another  country  ?  " 

That,  plainly  put,  was  what  the  proposal  of  the  Count 
amounted  to,  as  he  had  expressed  it ;  but  even  he  seemed 
somewhat  taken  aback  by  its  apparent  absurdity. 

"  No,"  he  said,  "  you  must  not  put  it  all  down  to  one 
reason  ;  there  are  many  reasons,  some  of  them  important ; 
but  at  all  events  it  is  sure  that  if  I  come  to  live  in  England, 


192  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

I  shall  not  be  disappointed  of  having  much  pleasure  in 
travelling." 

"  With  you  it  may  be  different,"  said  Bell,  almost  repeat- 
ing what  I  had  said  the  day  before  to  the  young  man.  "  I 
wish  we  could  always  be  travelling  and  meeting  with  such 
delightful  scenes  as  this.  But  this  holiday  is  a  very 
exceptional  thing." 

"  So  much  the  worse,"  said  the  Lieutenant,  with  the  air 
of  a  man  who  thinks  he  is  being  hardly  used  by  destiny. 

"  But  tell  me,"  broke  in  Queen  Tita,  as  the  boat  lay  in 
the  path  of  the  moonlight,  almost  motionless,  "have  you 
calculated  the  consequences  of  your  becoming  an  exile  ?  " 

"  An  exile  !  There  are  many  thousands  of  my  country- 
men in  England  ;  they  do  not  seem  to  suffer  much  of  regret 
because  they  are  exiles  ?  " 

"  Suppose  we  were  to  go  to  war  with  Germany  ?  " 

"  Madame,"  observed  the  Lieutenant,  seriously,  "  if  you 
regard  one  possibility,  why  not  another  ?  Should  I  not 
hesitate  of  living  in  England  for  fear  of  a  comet  striking 
your  country  rather  than  Germany  ?  No  :  I  do  not  think 
there  is  any  chance  of  either  ;  but  if  there  is  a  war,  then  I 
consider  whether  I  am  more  bound  to  Germany  or  to 
England.  And  that  is  a  question  of  the  ties  you  may  form, 
which  may  be  more  strong  than  merely  that  you  chance  to 
have  been  born  in  a  particular  place." 

"  These  are  not  patriotic  sentiments,"  remarked  my  Lady, 
in  a  voice  which  showed  she  was  pleased  as  well  as  amused 
by  the  announcement  of  them. 

"  Patriotism  !  "  he  said.  "  That  is  very  good — but  you 
need  not  make  it  a  fetish.  Perhaps  I  have  more  right  to 
be  patriotic  in  a  country  that  I  choose  for  my  own,  than  in 
a  country  where  I  am  born  without  any  choice  of  my  own. 
But  I  do  not  find  my  countrymen  when  they  come  to 
England  much  troubled  by  such  things  ;  and  I  do  not 
think  your  countrymen,  when  they  go  to  America,  consult 
the  philosophers,  and  say  what  they  would  do  in  a  war.  If 
you  will  allow  me  to  differ  from  you,  Madame,  I  do  not 
think  that  is  a  great  objection  to  my  living  in  England." 

An  objection — coming  from  her  !  The  fimefet  Lieutenant 
meant  no  sarcasm  ;  but  if  a  blush  remained  in  my  Lady's 
system — which  is  pretty  well  trained,  I  admit,  to  repress 


OF  A  PHAETON.  193 

Such  symptoms  of  consciousness — surely  it  ought  to  have 
been  visible  on  this  clear  moonlight  night. 

At  length  we  had  to  make  for  the  shore.  It  seemed  as 
though  we  were  leaving  out  there  on  the  water  all  the 
white  wonder  of  the  moon  ;  but  when  we  had  run  the 
boat  into  the  boat-house  and  got  up  among  the  trees,  there 
too  was  the  strong  light,  gleaming  on  grey  branches,  and 
throwing  bars  of  black  shadow  across  the  pale  road.  We 
started  on  our  way  back  to  the  village,  by  the  margin  of 
the  mere.  The  mists  seemed  colder  here  than  out  on  the 
water  ;  and  now  we  could  see  the  moonlight  struggling  with 
a  faint  haze  that  lay  over  all  the  surface  of  the  lake.  My 
Lady  and  Bell  walked  on  in  front ;  the  Lieutenant  was 
apparently  desirous  to  linger  somewhat  behind. 

"  You  know,"  he  said,  in  a  low  voice,  and  with  a  little 
embarrassment,  "  why  I  have  resolved  to  live  in  England." 

"  I  can  guess." 

"  I  mean  to  ask  Mademoiselle  to-morrow — if  I  have  the 
chance — if  she  will  become  my  wife." 

"  You  will  be  a  fool  for  your  pains." 

"  What  is  that  phrase  ?  I  do  not  comprehend  it,"  he 
said. 

"  You  will  make  a  mistake  if  you  do.  She  will  refuse 
you." 

"And  well?"  he  said.  "Does  not  every  man  run  the 
chance  of  that  ?  I  will  not  blame  her — no  ;  but  it  is  better 
I  should  ask  her,  and  be  assured  of  this  one  way  or  the 
other." 

"  You  do  not  understand.  Apart  from  all  other  con- 
siderations, Bell  would  almost  certainly  object  to  entertain- 
ing such  a  proposal  after  a  few  days'  acquaintanceship " 

"  A  few  days  !  "  he  exclaimed.  "  Du  Himmel !  I  have 
known  her  years  and  years  ago — very  well  we  were 
acquainted " 

"  But  the  acquaintanceship  of  a  boy  is  nothing.  You  are 
almost  a  stranger  to  her  now." 

"  See  here,"  he  urged.  "We  do  know  more  of  each  other 
in  this  week  or  two  than  if  I  had  met  her  for  many  seasons 
of  your  London  society.  We  have  seen  each  other  at  all 
times — under  all  ways — not  mere  talking  in  a  dance,  or  so 
forth." 


194  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

"  But  you  know  she  has  not  definitely  broken  off  with 
Arthur  yet." 

"  Then  the  sooner  the  better,"  said  the  Lieutenant, 
bluntly.  "  How  is  it  you  do  all  fear  him,  and  the  annoy- 
ance of  his  coming  ?  Is  a  young  lady  likely  to  have  much 
sympathy  for  him,  when  he  is  very  disagreeable,  and  rude, 
and  angry  ?  Now,  this  is  what  I  think  about  him.  I  am 
afraid  Mademoiselle  is  very  sorry  to  tell  him  to  go  away. 
They  are  old  friends.  But  she  would  like  him  to  go  away  ; 
for  he  is  very  jealous,  and  angry,  and  rude  ;  and  so  I  go  to 
her,  and  say — no,  I  will  not  tell  you  what  my  argument  is  ; 
but  I  hope  I  will  show  Mademoiselle  it  will  be  better  if  she 
will  promise  to  be  my  wife,  and  then  this  pitiful  fellow  he 
will  be  told  not  to  distress  her  any  more.  If  she  says  no — 
it  is  a  misfortune  for  me,  but  none  to  her.  If  she  says  yes, 
then  I  will  look  out  that  she  is  not  any  more  annoyed — that 
is  quite  certain." 

"  I  hope  you  don't  wish  to  marry  merely  to  rescue  a 
distressed  damsel." 

"  Bah,"  he  said,  "  you  know  it  is  not  that.  But  you 
English  people,  you  always  make  your  jokes  about  these 
things — not  very  good  jokes  either — and  do  not  talk  frankly 
about  it.  "When  Madame  comes  to  hear  of  this — and  if 
Mademoiselle  is  good  enough  not  to  cast  me  away — it  will 
be  a  hard  time  for  us,  I  know,  from  morning  until  night. 
But  have  I  not  told  you  what  I  have  considered  this  young 
lady — so  very  generous  in  her  nature,  and  not  thinking 
of  herself — so  very  frank  and  good-humoured  to  all  people 
around  her — and  of  a  light  heart,  that  shows  she  can  enjoy 
the  world,  and  is  of  a  happy  disposition,  and  will  be  a  very 
noble  companion  for  the  man  who  marries  her  ?  I  would 
tell  you  much  more,  but  I  cannot  in  your  language." 

At  all  events,  he  had  picked  up  a  good  many  flattering 
adjectives.  Mademoiselle's  dowry  in  that  respect  was  likely 
to  be  considerable. 

Here  we  got  back  to  the  inn.  Glasses  were  brought  in, 
and  we  had  a  final  game  of  bezique  before  retiring  for  the 
night  ;  but  the  Lieutenant's  manner  towards  Bell  was 
singularly  constrained  and  almost  distant ;  and  he  re- 
garded her  occasionally  in  a  somewhat  timid  and  anxious 
way. 


OF  A  PHAETON.  195 

[Note  by  Queen  Titania. — "It  is  perhaps  unnecessary  for  me  to 
explain  that  I  am  not  responsible  for  the  strange  notions  that  may 
enter  the  heads  of  two  light-hearted  young  people  when  they  are 
away  for  a  holiday.  But  I  must  protest  against  the  insinuation — 
conveyed  in  a  manner  which  I  will  not  describe — that  I  was  throughout 
scheming  against  Arthur's  suit  with  our  Bell.  That  poor  boy  is  the 
son  of  two  of  my  oldest  friends  ;  and  for  himself  we  have  always  had 
the  greatest  esteem  and  liking.  If  he  caused  us  a  little  annoyance  at 
this  time,  he  had  perhaps  a  sort  of  excuse  for  it — which  is  more  than 
some  people  can  say,  when  they  have  long  ago  got  over  the  jealousies 
of  courtship,  and  yet  do  not  cease  to  persecute  their  wives  with  far 
from  good-natured  jests — and  it  is,  I  think,  a  little  unfair  to  represent 
me  as  being  blind  to  his  peculiar  situation,  or  unmerciful  towards 
himself.  On  the  contrary,  I  am  sure  I  -did  everything  I  could  to 
smooth  over  the  unpleasant  incidents  of  his  visit ;  but  I  did  not  find 
it  incumbent  on  me  to  become  a  partisan,  and  spend  hours  in  getting 
up  philosophical — philosophical ! — excuses  for  a  rudeness  which  was 
really  unpardonable.  What  I  chiefly  wish  for,  I  know,  is  to  see  all 
those  young  folks  happy  and  contented ;  but  it  would  puzzle  wiser 
lieads  than  mine  to  find  a  means  of  reconciling  them.  As  for  Count 
von  Kosen,  if  he  made  up  his  mind  to  ask  Bell  to  be  his  wife,  because 
Ellesmere  looked  pretty  when  the  moon  came  out,  I  cannot  help  it. 
It  is  some  years  since  I  gave  up  the  idea  of  attempting  to  account  for 
the  odd  freaks  and  impulses  that  get  into  the  heads  of  what  I  suppose 
we  must  call  the  superior  sea."] 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

OUK  UHLAN  OUT-MANCEUVEED. 

"Come  down,  come  down,  my  bonnie  bird, 

And  eat  bread  aif  my  hand ; 
Your  cage  shall  be  of  wiry  goud, 
Whar  now  it's  but  the  wand." 

"  You  are  the  most  provoking  husband  I  ever  met  with," 
says  Queen  Titania. 

We  are  climbing  up  the  steep  ascent  which  leads  from  the 
village  of  Ellesmere  to  the  site  of  an  ancient  castle.  The 
morning  is  full  of  a  breezy  sunshine,  and  the  cool  north- 
wester stirs  here  and  there  a  grey  ripple  on  the  blue  waters 
of  the  lake  below. 

"1  hope  you  have  not  had  much  experience  in  that 
direction,"  I  observe. 

"Yery  pretty.  That  is  very  nice  indeed.  We  are 
improving,  are  we  not  ?  "  she  says,  turning  to  Bell. 

Bell,  who  has  a  fine  colour  in  her  face  from  the  light 

0  2 


196  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

breeze  and  the  brisk  walking,  puts  her  hand  affectionately 
within  her  friend's  arm,  and  says,  in  gentle  accents — • 

"It  is  a  shame  to  tease  you  so,  you  poor  innocent  little 
thing.  But  we  will  have  our  revenge.  We  will  ask  some- 
body else  to  protect  you,  my  pet  lamb  !  " 

"  Lamb — hm  !  Not  much  of  the  lamb  visible,  but  a  good 
deal  of  the  vinegar  sauce,"  says  one  of  us,  mindful  of  past 
favours. 

It  was  a  deadly  quarrel.  I  think  it  had  arisen  out  of 
Tita's  inability  to  discover  which  way  the  wind  was  blowing  ; 
but  the  origin  of  our  sham-fights  had  seldom  much  to  do 
with  their  subsequent  rise  and  progress. 

"  I  wish  I  had  married  you,  Count  von  Rosen,"  observed 
my  Lady,  turning  proudly  and  graciously  to  her  companion 
on  the  right. 

"  Don't  alarm  the  poor  man,"  I  remonstrated  :  and  indeed 
the  Lieutenant  looked  quite  aghast. 

"  Madame,"  he  replied  gravely,  when  he  had  recovered 
himself,  "it  is  very  kind  of  you  to  say  so  ;  and  if  you  had 
made  me  the  offer  sooner,  I  should  have  accepted  it  with 
great  pleasure.  But  would  there  have  been  any  difference  ? 
No,  I  think  not — perhaps  it  would  be  worse.  It  is  merely 
that  you  are  married ;  and  you  make  believe  to  chafe 
against  the  bonds.  Now,  I  think  you  two  would  be  very 
agreeable  to  each  other  if  you  were  not  married." 

"Ah,  well,"  said  Tita,  with  an  excellently  constructed 
sigh  ;  "  I  suppose  we  must  look  on  marriage  as  a  trial,  and 
bear  it  with  meekness  and  patience.  We  shall  have  our 
reward  elsewhere." 

Bell  laughed,  in  a  demure  manner.  That  calm  assumption 
of  the  virtues  of  meekness  and  patience  was  a  little  too 
much  ;  but  what  was  the  use  of  further  fighting  on  a 
morning  like  this  ?  We  got  the  key  of  a  small  gate.  We 
climbed  up  a  winding  path  through  trees  that  were  glancing 
in  the  sunlight.  We  emerged  upon  a  beautiful  green  lawn — 
a  bowling-green,  in  fact,  girt  in  by  a  low  hedge,  and  over- 
looked by  a  fancy  little  building.  But  the  great  charm  of 
this  elevated  site  was  the  panorama  around  and  beyond. 
Windy  clouds  of  white  and  grey  kept  rolling  up  out  of  the 
west,  throwing  splashes  of  purple  gloom  on  the  shining  land- 
scape. The  foliage  waved  and  rustled  in  the  cool  breeze  ;  the 


OF  A  PHAETON.  197 

sunlight  kept  chasing  the  shadows  across  the  far  meadows. 
And  then  down  below  us  lay  the  waters  of  Ellesmere  lake — 
here  and  there  a  deep,  dark  blue,  under  the  warm  green  of 
the  woods ;  and  here  and  there  stirred  into  a  shimmer  of 
silver  by  the  wind  that  was  sweeping  across  the  sky. 

"  And  to-day  we  shall  be  in  Chester,  and  to-morrow  in 
"Wales  ! "  cried  Bell,  looking  away  to  the  north,  where  the 
sky  was  pretty  well  heaped  up  with  the  flying  masses  of 
cloud.  She  looked  so  bright  and  joyous  then,  that  one 
could  almost  have  expected  her  to  take  flight  herself,  and 
disappear  like  a  wild  bird  amid  the  shifting  lights  and 
glooms  of  this  windy  day.  The  Lieutenant,  indeed,  seemed 
continually  regarding  her  in  rather  an  anxious  and  em- 
barrassed fashion.  Was  he  afraid  she  might  escape  ?  Or 
was  he  merely  longing  to  get  an  opportunity  of  plunging 
into  that  serious  business  he  had  spoken  of  the  night  before  ? 
Bell  was  all  unconscious.  She  put  her  hand  within  Tita's 
arm,  and  walked  away  over  the  lawn,  which  was  warm 
in  the  sunshine.  We  heard  them  talking  of  a  picnic  on. 
this  lofty  and  lonely  spot — sketching  out  tents,  archery- 
grounds,  and  what  not,  and  assigning  a  place  to  the  band. 
Then  there  were  rumours  of  the  "  Haymakers  "  of  "  Roger 
de  Coveiiey,"  of  the  "  Gruaracha,"  and  I  know  not  what 
other  nonsense,  coming  towards  us  as  the  north-wester  blew 
back  to  us  fragments  of  their  talk ;  until  even  the  Lieu- 
tenant remarked  that  an  old-fashioned  country-dance  would 
look  very  pretty  up  here,  on  such  a  fine  piece  of  green,  and 
with  all  the  blue  and  breezy  extent  of  a  great  English  land- 
scape forming  the  environment  of  this  magnificent  ball- 
room. 

A  proposal  is  an  uncomfortable  thing  to  carry  about  with 
one.  Its  weight  is  unconscionable,  and  on  the  merriest  of 
days  it  will  make  a  man  down-hearted.  To  ask  a  woman  to 
marry  is  about  the  most  serious  duty  which  a  man  has  to 
perform  in  life,  even  as  some  would  say  that  it  is  the  most 
unnecessary  :  and  those  who  settled  the  relations  of  the 
sexes,  before  or  after  the  Flood,  should  receive  the  gratitude 
of  all  womankind  for  the  ingenuity  with  which  they 
shifted  on  to  male  shoulders  this  heavy  and  grievous 
burden. 

The  Lieutenant  walked  down  with  us  from  the  hill  and 


198  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

through  the  little  village  to  the  inn  as  one  distraught.  He 
scarcely  even  spoke — and  never  to  Bell.  He  regarded  the 
getting  oat  of  the  phaeton  with  a  listless  air.  Castor  and 
Pollux — whose  affections  he  had  stolen  away  from  us 
through  a  whole  series  of  sneaking  kindnesses — whinnied  to 
him  in  vain.  When  my  Lady,  who  now  assumed  the 
responsibility  of  apportioning  to  us  our  seats,  asked  him  to 
drive  on,  he  obeyed  mechanically. 

Now  our  Bonny  Bell,  as  I  have  said,  was  unconscious  of 
the  awful  possibilities  that  hung  over  our  adventures  of  that 
day  ;  and  was  in  as  merry  a  mood  as  you  could  desire  to  see. 
She  sat  beside  the  Lieutenant ;  and  scarcely  had  we  gone 
gently  along  the  narrow  village  street  and  out  into  the 
broader  country  road  that  leads  northward,  than  she  began 
to  tell  her  companion  of  the  manner  in  which  Tita  tyrannizes 
over  our  parish. 

"  You  would  not  think  it,  would  you  ?  "  she  asked. 

"  No,"  said  the  Lieutenant,  "  I  should  not  think  she  was 
a  very  ferocious  lady." 

"  Then  you  don't  know  her,"  murmurs  a  voice  from  behind ; 
and  Tita  says, "  Don't  begin  again,"  in  an  injured  way,  as  if 
we  were  doing  some  sort  of  harm  to  the  fine  morning. 

"  I  can  assure  you,"  said  Bell,  seriously,  "  that  she  rules  the 
parish  with  a  rod  of  iron.  She  knows  every  farthing  that 
every  labourer  makes  in  the  week ;  and  he  catches  it  if  he 
does  not  bring  home  a  fair  proportion  to  his  wife.  '  Well, 
Jackson,'  she  says,  '  I  hear  your  master  is  going  to  give  you 
fourteen  shillings  a  week  now.'  '  Thank  ye,  ma'am,'  he 
says,  for  he  knows  quite  well  who  secured  him  the  additional 
shilling  to  his  wages.  '  But  I  want  you  to  give  me  three- 
pence out  of  it  for  the  savings  bank ;  and  your  wife  will 
gather  up  sixpence  a  week  until  she  gets  enough  for  another 
pair  of  blankets  for  you,  now  the  winter  is  coming  on, 
you  know.'  Well,  the  poor  man  dares  not  object.  He  gives 
up  three-fourths  of  the  shilling  he  had  been  secretly  expect- 
ing to  spend  on  beer,  and  does  not  say  a  word.  The 
husbands  in  our  parish  have  a  bad  time  of  it " 

"  One  of  them  has,  at  least,"  says  that  voice  from  behind. 

"  And  you  should  see  how  our  Tita  will  confront  a  huge 
fellow  who  is  half  bemused  with  beer,  and  order  him  to  be 
silent  in  her  presence.  '  How  dare  you  speak  to  your  wife 


OF  A  PHAETON.  199 

like  that  before  me  ! ' — and  he  is  as  quiet  as  a  lamb.  And 
sometimes  the  wives  have  a  turn  of  it  too — not  reproof,  you 
know,  but  a  look  of  surprise  if  they  have  not  finished  the 
sewing  of  the  children's  frocks  which  Tita  and  I  have  cut  out 
for  them  ;  or  if  they  have  gone  into  the  alehouse  with  their 
husbands  late  on  the  Saturday  night ;  or  if  they  have  missed 
being  at  church  next  morning.  Then  you  should  see  the 
farmers'  boys  playing  pitch-and-toss  in  the  road  on  the 
Sundays — how  they  scurry  away  like  rabbits  when  they 
see  her  coming  up  from  church — they  fly  behind  stacks,  or 
plunge  through  hedges — anything  to  get  out  of  her  way." 

"  And  I  am  not  assisted,  Count  von  Rosen,  in  any  of  these 
things,"  says  my  Lady,  "  by  a  young  lady  who  was  once 
known  to  catch  a  small  boy  and  shake  him  by  the  shoulders 
because  he  threw  a  stone  at  the  clergyman  as  he  passed." 

"  Then  you  do  assist,  Mademoiselle,"  inquires  the  Lieu- 
tenant, "  in  this  overseeing  of  the  parish  ?  " 

"  Oh,  I  merely  keep  the  books,"  replies  Bell.  "  I  am  the 
treasurer  of  the  savings  bank  ;  and  I  call  a  fortnightly  meet- 
ing to  announce  the  purchase  of  the  various  kinds  of  cotton 
and  woollen  stuffs,  at  wholesale  prices,  and  to  hear  from  the 
subscribers  what  they  most  need.  Then  we  have  the 
materials  cut  into  patterns  ;  we  pay  so  much  to  the  women 
for  sewing  ;  and  then  we  sell  the  things  when  they  are  made  ; 
so  that  the  people  pay  for  everything  they  get,  and  yet  get  it 
far  cheaper  than  they  would  at  a  shop,  while  we  are  not  out 
of  pocket  by  it." 

Here  a  deep  groan  is  heard  from  the  hind  seat  of  the 
phaeton.  That  beautiful  fiction  about  the  ways  and  means 
of  our  local  charities  has  existed  in  our  household  for  many 
a  day.  The  scheme  is  admirable.  There  is  no  pauperization 
of  the  peasantry  around.  The  theory  is  that  Queen  Tita 
and  Bell  merely  come  in  to  save  the  cost  of  distribution  ; 
and  that  nothing  is  given  away  gratis  except  their  charitable 
labour.  It  is  a  pretty  theory.  The  folks  round  about  us 
find  it  answers  admirably.  But  somehow  or  other — whether 
from  an  error  in  Bell's  book-keeping,  or  whether  from  a 
sudden  rise  in  the  price  of  flannel,  or  some  other  recondite 
and  esoteric  cause — all  I  know  is  that  the  system  demands  an 
annual  subvention  from  the  head  of  the  house.  Of  course 
my  Lady  can  explain  all  that  away.  There  is  some 
temporary  defect  in  the  working-out  of  the  scheme ;  the 


200  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

self-supporting  character  of  it  remains  easy  of  demonstration. 
It  may  be  so.  But  a  good  deal  of  bread — in  the  shape  of 
cheques — has  been  thrown  upon  the  waters  in  a  certain 
district  in  England  ;  while  the  true  author  of  the  charity — 
the  real  dispenser  of  these  good  things — is  not  considered  in 
the  matter,  and  is  privately  regarded  as  a  sort  of  grudging 
person,  who  does  not  understand  the  larger  claims  of 
humanity. 

At  length  we  have  our  first  glimpse  of  Wales.  From 
Ellesmere  to  Overton  the  road  gradually  ascends,  until,  just 
before  you  come  to  Overton,  it  skirts  the  •  edge  of  a  high 
plateau,  and  all  at  once  you  are  confronted  by  the  sight  of 
a  great  valley,  through  which  a  stream,  brown  as  a  Welsh 
rivulet  ought  to  be,  is  slowly  stealing.  That  narrow  thread 
that  twists  through  spacious  wToods  and  green  meadows  is 
the  river  Dee  ;  far  away  beyond  the  valley  that  it  waters, 
rise  the  blue  masses  of  Cyrn-y-Brain  and  Cefn-y-Fedn ; 
while  to  the  south  of  the  latter  range  lies  the  gap  by  which 
you  enter  the  magic  vale  of  Llangollen.  On  this  breezy 
morning  there  were  white  clouds  blowing  across  the  dusky 
peaks  of  the  mountains  ;  while  ever  and  anon,  from  a  blue 
rift  overhead,  a  shimmering  line  of  silver  would  strike  down, 
and  cause  the  side  of  some  distant  hill  to  shine  in  pale  grey 
and  gold. 

"  That  is  a  very  strange  sight  to  me,"  said  the  Lieutenant, 
as  the  horses  stood  in  the  road  ;  "  all  these  great  mountains, 
with,  I  think,  no  houses  on  them.  That  is  the  wild  country 
into  which  the  first  inhabitants  of  this  country  fled  when 
the  German  tribes  swarmed  over  here — all  that  we  have  been 
taught  at  school  ;  but  only  think  of  the  difficulty  the 
Berlin  boy — living  with  nothing  but  miles  of  flat  sand 
around  him — has  to  imagine  a  wild  region  like  this,  which 
gave  shelter  because  no  one  could  follow  into  its  forest  and 
rocks.  And  how  are  we  to  go  ?  We  cannot  drive  into 
these  mountains." 

"  Oh,  but  there  are  very  fine  roads  in  Wales,"  said  Bell ; 
"  broad,  smooth,  well-made  roads ;  and  you  can  drive 
through  the  most  beautiful  scenery,  if  you  wish." 

However,  it  was  arranged  we  should  not  attempt  anything 
of  the  kind,  which  would  take  us  too  far  out  of  our  route  to 
Scotland.  It  was  resolved  to  let  the  horses  have  a  rest  in 
Chester  the  next  day  ;  while  we  should  take  a  run  down  by 


OF  A  PHAETON.  201 

rail  to  Llanrwst  and  Bettws-y-Coed,  merely  to  give  our 
Uhlan  a  notion  of  the  difficulties  he  would  have  to  encounter 
in  subduing  this  country,  when  the  time  came  for  that  little 
expedition. 

So  we  bowled  through  the  small  village  of  Over  ton,  and 
down  the  winding  road  which  plunges  into  the  beautiful 
valley  we  had  been  regarding  from  the  height.  We  had  not 
yet  struck  the  Dee  ;  but  it  seemed  as  though  the  ordinary 
highway  in  this  plain  was  a  private  path  through  a  mag- 
nificent estate.  As  far  as  we  could  see,  a  splendid  avenue 
of  elms  stretched  on  in  front  of  us ;  and  while  we  drove 
through  the  cool  shade,  on  either  side  lay  a  spacious  extent 
of  park,  studded  with  grand  old  oaks.  At  length  we  came 
upon  the  stream,  flowing  brown  and  clear,  through  pictur- 
esque and  wooded  banks  ;  and  then  we  got  into  open  country 
again,  and  ran  pleasantly  up  to  Wrexham. 

Perhaps  the  Lieutenant  would  have  liked  to  bait  the 
horses  in  some  tiny  village  near  to  this  beautiful  stream. 
We  should  all  have  gone  out  for  a  saunter  along  the  banks  ; 
and,  in  the  pulling  of  wild  flowers,  or  the  taking  of  sketches, 
or  some  such  idyllic  employment,  the  party  would  in  all 
likelihood  have  got  divided.  It  would  have  been  a  pleasant 
opportunity  for  him  to  ask  this  gentle  English  girl  to  be  his 
wife — with  the  sweet  influences  of  the  holiday-time  disposing 
her  to  consent,  and  with  the  quiet  of  this  wooded  valley 
ready  to  catch  her  smallest  admission.  Besides,  who  could 
tell  what  might  happen  after  Bell  had  reached  Chester  ? 
That  was  the  next  of  the  large  towns  which  Arthur  had 
agreed  to  make  points  of  communication.  I  think  the 
Lieutenant  began  at  this  time  to  look  upon  large  towns  as 
an  abomination,  to  curse  telegraphs,  and  hate  the  penny  post 
with  a  malignant  hatred. 

But  in  place  of  any  such  quiet  resting-place,  we  had  to 
put  up  Castor  and  Pollux  in  the  brisk  little  town  of  Wrex- 
ham, which  was  even  more  than  usually  busy  with  its 
market-day.  The  Wynnstay  Arms  was  full  of  farmers,  seed- 
agents,  implement  makers,  and  what  not,  all  roaring  and 
talking  to  the  last  limit  of  their  lungs — bustling  about  the 
place  and  calling  for  glasses  of  ale,  or  attacking  huge  joints 
of  cold  roast  beef  with  an  appetite  which  had  evidently  not 
been  educated  on  nothing.  The  streets  were  filled  with  the 
vendors  of  various  wares ;  the  wives  and  daughters  of  the 


202  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

farmers,  having  come  in  from  the  country  in  the  dog-cart  or 
waggonette,  were  promenading  along  the  pavement  in  the 
most  gorgeous  hues  known  to  silken  and  muslin  fabrics  ; 
cattle  were  being  driven  through  narrow  thoroughfares  ;  and 
the  sellers  of  fruit  and  of  fish  in  the  market-place  were 
alarming  the  air  with  their  calls.  The  only  quiet  corner, 
indeed,  was  the  churchyard  and  the  church,  through  which 
we  wandered  for  a  little  while  ;  but  young  folks  are  not  so 
foolish  as  to  tell  secrets  in  a  building  that  has  an  echo. 

Was  there  no  chance  for  our  unfortunate  Uhlan  ? 

"  Hurry — hurry  on  to  Chester  !  "  cried  Bell,  as  we  drove 
away  from  Wrexham  along  the  level  northern  road. 

A  gloomy  silence  had  overtaken  the  Lieutenant.  He  was 
now  sitting  behind  with  Queen  Tita  ;  and  she  was  doing  her 
best  to  entertain  him — (there  never  was  a  woman  who  could 
make  herself  more  agreeable  to  persons  not  of  her  own 
household) — -while  he  sat  almost  mute,  listening  respectfully, 
and  half  suffering  himself  to  be  interested. 

Our  pretty  Bell,  on  the  other  hand,  was  all  delight  at  the 
prospect  of  reaching  the  quaint  old  city  that  evening  ;  and 
was  busy  with  wild  visions  of  our  plunge  into  Wales  on  the 
morrow,  while  ever  [and  anon  she  hummed  snatches  of  the 
Lieutenant's  Burgundy  song.* 

*  Count  von  Eosen,  fearing  that  his  English  is  not  first-rate,  begs 
me  to  say  that  his  very  excellent  friend  Mr.  Charles  Oberthur,  with 
whose  name  the  public  is  pretty  well  familiar,  has  been  good  enough 
to  set  this  song  to  music.  He  thinks  Mr.  Oberthiir's  music  better 
than  that  which  the  young  Englishman  used  to  sing  at  Bonn,  and 
Bell  thinks  so  too  :  but  then  her  opinion  always  coincides.  However, 
I  am  permitted,  by  the  joint  kindness  of  Mr.  Oberthur  and  the 
Lieutenant,  to  give  the  music  here  : — 

BURGUNDY  ROSE. 

Allegro  moderate.  Music  ^  CH^LES  OBERTHIJR. 


—  d—  ^-=rl=3—  ^~ 

—  e£-~      •    0i 

wA)h,       Bur  -  gun  -d 
ife—m—  = 

_l  j  •  j_j—  |  w  .  j   ^__ 

7       is  -  n't      a     good  thing  to 

•  1 
drink,  Young 
1  P  1 

m/     ^ 

-^-         ^3* 

-& 

s            _ 

^    "^  -^ 

-=j^                 J 

OF  A  PHAETON. 


203 


"  Please  may  I  make  a  confession  ?  "  she  asked,  at  length, 
in  a  low  voice. 


SIZ^K 


IE 


-t b* 

man,     I     be  -  seech  you,  con  -   si  -  der   and    think. 


N 


Or       else       in    your       nose,      and  like  -  wise      in    your 


toes,  You'll  dis  -  cov  -  er  the    co  -lour  of    Bur-gun-dy    rose,  You'll  dis  - 


m 


cres. 


poco      .      / 


molto  ritard. 


-  cov  -   er      the        co  -  lour     of        Bur  -  gun  -  dy        rose. 


-  -> 


204 


THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 


"  Why,  yes." 

I  hoped,  however,  she  was  not  going  to  follow  the  example 
of  the  Lieutenant,  and  confide  to  me  that  she  meditated 
making  a  proposal.  Although  men  dislike  this  duty,  they 
have  a  prejudice  against  seeing  it  undertaken  by  women. 

"  All  our  journey  has  wanted  but  one  thing,"  said  Bell. 
"  We  have  had  everything  that  could  be  wished — bright 
weather,  a  comfortable  way  of  travelling,  much  amusement, 
plenty  of  fights — indeed,  there  was  nothing  wanting  but 
one  thing  ;  and  that  was  the  sea.  Now  did  you  ever  try  to 
look  for  it  ?  Were  you  never  anxious  to  find  only  a  long 


TENOBI. 


BASSI. 


Bur  -  gun  -  dy       rose, 


Bur  -  gun  -  dy        rose,         A 

N       I  I          i 


/  A  tempo. 


~r  •  •  1*      » — T — ^ P 


molto  ritard. 
J-r-J fc__|. 


Verses  1,2,3.*      Verse  4. 

/T\  I       /T\ 

4- 


dan  -  ger  -  ous  symp-tom  is     Bur  -  gun  -  dy     rose. 


Solo. 


m 


Jit  -g- 


coKa  parte. 


*  For  the  last  three  verses  see  pp.  169,  170, 


OF  A  PHAETON.  205 

thread  of  grey  near  the  sky,  and  be  quite  sure  that  out  there 
the'woodfl  stopped  on  the  edge  of  a  line  of  sand  ?  I  dared 
not  tell  Tita — for  she  would  have  thought  me  very  ungrate- 
ful ;  but  I  may  tell  you,  for  you  don't  seem  to  care  about 
anybody's  opinions  ;  but  I  used  to  get  a  little  vexed  with 
the  constant  meadows,  rivers,  farms,  hills,  woods,  and  all 
that  over  and  over  again,  and  the  sea  not  coming  any 
nearer.  Of  course  one  had  no  right  to  complain,  as  I 
suppose  it's  put  down  in  the  map,  and  can't  be  altered  ;  but 
we  seem  to  have  been  a  long  time  coming  across  the  country 
to  reach  the  coast." 

"  Why,  you  wild  sea-gull,  do  you  think  that  was  our  only 
object  ?  A  long  time  reaching  the  coast  ! — Don't  imagine 
your  anxiety  was  concealed.  I.saw  you  perpetually  scanning 
the  horizon,  as  if  one  level  line  were  better  than  any  other 
level  line  at  such  a  distance.  You  began  it  on  Richmond 
Hill ;  and  would  have  us  believe  the  waves  of  the  Irish 
Channel  were  breaking  somewhere  about  Windsor." 

"  No — no  !  "  pleaded  Bell ;  "  don't  think  me  ungrateful. 
I  think  we  have  been  most  fortunate  in  coming  as  we  did  ; 
and  Count  von  Rosen  must  have  seen  every  sort  of  English 
landscape — first  the  river-pictures  about  Richmond  ;  then 
the  wooded  hills  about  Oxfordshire  ;  then  the  plains  of 
Berkshire  ;  then  the  mere-country  about  Ellesmere  ;  and 
now  he  is  going  into  the  mountains  of  Wales.  But  all  the 
same  we  shall  reach  the  sea  to-morrow." 

"  What  are  you  two  fighting  about  ?  "  says  Queen  Titania, 
interposing. 

"  We  are  not  fighting,"  says  Bell,  in  the  meekest  possible 
way  ;  "  we  are  not  husband  and  wife." 

"  I  wish  you  were,"  says  the  other,  coolly. 

"  Madame,"  I  observe  at  this  point,  "  that  is  rather  a 
dangerous  jest  to  play  with.  It  is  now  the  second  time  you 
have  made  use  of  it  this  morning." 

"  And  if  I  do  repeat  old  jokes,"  says  Tita,  with  a  certain 
calm  audacity,  "  it  must  be  through  the  force  of  a  continual 
example." 

" And  such  jests  sometimes  fix  themselves  in  the 

mind  until  they  develop  and  grow  into  a  serious  purpose." 

"  Does  that  mean  that  you  would  like  to  marry  Bell  ?  If 
it  can  be  done  legally  and  properly,  I  should  not  be  sorry,  I 


206  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

know.  Can  it  be  done,  Count  von  Eosen  ?  Shall  we  four 
go  back  to  London  with  different  partners  ?  An  exchange 
of  husbands " 

Merciful  powers  !  what  was  the  woman  saying  ?  She 
suddenly  stopped,  and  an  awful  consternation  fell  on  the 
whole  four  of  us.  That  poor  little  mite  of  a  creature  had 
been  taking  no  thought  of  her  words,  in  her  pursuit  of  this 
harmless  jest ;  and  somehow  it  had  wandered  into  her  brain 
that  Bell  and  the  Lieutenant  were  on  the  same  footing  as 
herself  and  I.  A  more  embarrassing  slip  of  the  tongue 
could  not  be  conceived  ;  and  for  several  dreadful  seconds  no 
one  had  the  courage  to  speak,  until  Bell,  wildly  and  inco- 
herently— with  her  face  and  forehead  glowing  like  a  rose — 
asked  whether  there  was  a  theatre  in  Chester. 

"  No,"  cried  my  Lady,  eagerly ;  "  don't  ask  us  to  go  to 
the  theatre  to-night,  Bell ;  let  us  go  for  a  walk  rather." 

She  positively  did  not  know  what  she  was  saying.  It  was 
a  wonder  she  did  not  propose  we  should  go  to  the  gardens  of 
Cremorne,  or  up  in  a  balloon.  Her  heart  was  filled  with 
anguish  and  dismay  over  the  horrible  blunder  she  had  made  ; 
and  she  began  talking  about  Chester,  in  a  series  of  discon- 
nected sentences,  in  which  the  heartrending  effort  to  appear 
calm  and  unconstrained  was  painfully  obvious.  Much  as  I 
have  had  to  bear  at  the  hands  of  that  gentle  little  woman, 
I  felt  sorry  for  her  then.  I  wondered  what  she  and  Bell 
would  say  to  each  other  when  they  went  off  for  a  private 
confabulation  at  night. 

By  the  time  we  drew  near  Chester,  however,  this  unfor- 
tunate incident  was  pretty  well  forgotten  ;  and  we  were 
sufficiently  tranquil  to  regard  with  interest  the  old  city, 
which  was  now  marked  out  in  the  twilight  by  the  yellow 
rays  of  the  gas-lamps.  People  had  come  forth  for  their 
evening  stroll  round  the  great  wall  which  encircles  the 
town.  Down  in  the  level  meadows  by  the  side  of  the  Dee, 
lads  were  still  playing  cricket.  The  twilight,  indeed,  was 
singularly  clear ;  and  when  we  had  driven  into  the  town, 
and  put  up  the  phaeton  at  an  enormous  Gothic  hotel  which 
seemed  to  overawe  the  small  old-fashioned  houses  in  its 
neighbourhood,  we  too  set  out  for  a  leisurely  walk  round 
the  ancient  ramparts. 

But  here  again  the  Lieutenant  was  disappointed.     How 


OF  A  PHAETON.  207 

could  he  talk  privately  to  Bell  on  this  public  promenade  ? 
Lovers  there  were  here,  but  all  in  solitary  pairs.  If  Tita 
had  only  known  that  she  and  I  were  interfering  with  the 
happiness  of  our  young  folks,  she  would  have  thrown  herself 
headlong  into  the  moat  rather  than  continue  this  unwilling 
persecution.  As  it  was,  she  went  peacefully  along,  watching 
the  dusk  of  the  evening  fall  over  the  great  landscape 
around  the  city.  The  ruddy  glow  in  the  windows  became 
more  and  more  pronounced.  There  were  voices  of  boys  still 
heard  down  in  the  racecourse  ;  but  there  was  no  more 
cricketing  possible.  In  the  still  evening,  a  hush  seemed  to 
fall  over  the  town  ; -  and  when  we  got  round  to  the  weir  on 
the  river,  the  vague  white  masses  of  water  that  we  could 
scarcely  see,  sent  the  sound  of  their  roaring  and  tumbling, 
as  it  were,  into  a  hollow  chamber.  Then  we  plunged  once 
more  into  the  streets.  The  shops  were  lit.  The  quaint 
galleries  along  the  first  floor  of  the  houses,  which  are  the 
special  architectural  glory  of  Chester,  were  visible  in  the  dull 
glow  of  the  lamps.  Finally  we  found  ourselves  in  the  great 
dining-room  of  the  Gothic  hotel,  and  sat  ourselves  down  for 
a  comfortable  evening. 

"Well,"  I  say  to  the  Lieutenant,  as  we  go  into  the 
smoking-room,  when  the  women  have  retired  for  the  night, 
"  have  you  asked  Bell  yet  ?  " 

"  No,"  he  answers,  morosely. 

"  Then  you  have  escaped  another  day  ?  " 

"  It  was  not  my  intention.  I  will  ask  her — whenever  I 
get  the  chance — that  I  am  resolved  upon  ;  and  if  she  says 
'  No,'  why,  it  is  my  misfortune,  that  is  all." 

"  I  have  told  you  she  is  certain  to  say  '  No.'  " 

"  Very  well." 

"  But  I  have  a  proposal  to  make." 

"  So  have  I,"  says  the  Lieutenant,  with  a  gloomy  smile. 

"  To-morrow  you  are  going  down  to  see  a  bit  of  Wales. 
Why  spoil  the  day  prematurely  ?  Put  it  off  until  the 
evening,  and  then  take  your  refusal  like  a  man.  Don't  do 
Wales  a,n  injustice." 

"  Why,"  says  the  Lieutenant,  peevishly,  "  you  think 
nothing  is  important  but  looking  at  a  fine  country  and 
enjoying  life  out  of  doors.  I  do  not  care  what  happens  to 
a  lot  of  mountains  and  rivers  when  this  thing  is  for  me 


2oS  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

far  more  important.  When  I  can  speak  to  Mademoiselle,  I 
will  do  so  ;  and  I  do  not  care  if  all  Wales  is  put  under 
water  to-morrow " 

"  After  your  refusal,  the  deluge.  Well,  it  is  a  good  thing 
to  be  prepared.  But  you  need  not  talk  in  an  injured  tone, 
which  reminds  one  oddly  of  Arthur." 

You  should  have  seen  the  stare  on  von  Rosen's  face. 

"  It  is  true.  All  you  boys  are  alike  when  you  fall  in  love 
— all  unreasonable,  discontented,  perverse,  and  generally 
objectionable.  It  was  very  well  for  you  to  call  attention 
to  that  unhappy  young  man's  conduct  when  you  were  in 
your  proper  senses  ;  but  now,  if  you  go  on  as  you  are  going, 
it  will  be  the  same  story  over  again." 

"  Then  you  think  I  will  persecute  Mademoiselle  and  be 
insolent  to  her  and  her  friends  ?  " 

"All  in  good  time.  Bell  refuses  you  to-morrow.  You 
are  gloomy  for  a  day.  You  ask  yourself  why  she  has  done 
so.  Then  you  come  to  us  and  beg  for  our  interference.  We 
tell  you  it  is  none  of  our  business.  You  say  we  are 
prejudiced  against  you,  and  accuse  us  of  forwarding  Arthur's 
suit.  Then  you  begin  to  look  on  him  as  your  successful 
rival.  You  grow  so  furiously  jealous — 

Here  the  Uhlan  broke  into  a  tremendous  laugh. 

"  My  good  friend,  I  have  discovered  a  great  secret,"  he 
cried.  "  Do  you  know  who  is  jealous  ?  It  is  you  !  You 
will  oppose  anyone  who  tries  to  take  Mademoiselle  away 
from  you.  And  I — I  will  try — and  I  ivill  do  it." 

From  the  deepest  despondency  he  had  leaped  to  a  sort  of 
wild  and  crazy  hope  of  success.  He  smiled  to  himself,  walked 
about  the  room,  and  talked  in  the  most  buoyant  and 
friendly  manner  about  the  prospects  of  the  morrow.  He 
sent  clouds  of  cigar-smoke  about  as  if  he  were  Neptune 
getting  to  the  surface  of  the  sea,  and  blowing  back  the 
foam  from  about  his  face.  And  then,  all  at  once,  he  sat 
down — we  were  the  only  occupants  of  the  room — and  said, 
in  a  hesitating  way — 

"  Look  here — do  you  think  Madame  could  speak  a  word 
to  her — if  she  does  say  '  No  '  ?  " 

"  I  thought  it  would  come  to  that." 

"  You  are — what  do  you  call  it  ? — very  unsympathetic." 

"  Unsympathetic  !     No  ;  I  have  a  great  interest  in  both 


OF  A  PHAETON.  209 

of  you.     But  the  whole  story  is  so  old,  one  has  got  familiar 
with  its  manifestations." 

"  It  is  a  very  old  and  common  thing  to  be  born,  but  it  is 
a  very  important  thing,  and  it  only  happens  to  you  once." 

"And  falling  in  love  only  happens  to  you  once,  I 
suppose  ?  " 

"  Oh  no,  many  times.  I  have  very  often  been  in  love 
with  this  girl  or  the  other  girl,  but  never  until  this  time 
serious.  I  never  before  asked  anyone  to  marry  me  ;  and 
surely  this  is  serious — that  I  offer  for  her  sake  to  give  up 
my  country,  and  my  friends,  and  my  profession — everything. 
Surely  that  is  serious  enough  ?  " 

And  so  it  was.  And  I  knew  that  if  ever  he  got  Bell  to 
listen  favourably  to  him,  he  would  have  little  difficulty  in 
convincing  her  that  he  had  never  cared  for  anyone  before  ; 
while  she  would  easily  assure  him  that  she  had  always 
regarded  Arthur  only  as  a  friend.  For  there  are  no  lies  so 
massive,  audacious,  and  unblushing  as  those  told  by  two 
young  folks  when  they  recount  to  each  other  the  history  of 
their  previous  love  affairs. 


CHAPTER   XVII. 

IN  THE  FAIRY   GLEN. 

*  O  Queen,  thou  knowest  I  pray  not  for  this : 

Oh  set  us  down  together  in  some  place 
Where  not  a  voice  can  break  our  heaven  of  bliss, 
Where  nought  but  rocks  and  I  can  see  her  face 
Softening  beneath  the  marvel  of  thy  grace, 
Where  not  a  foot  our  vanished  steps  can  track, 
The  golden  age,  the  golden  age  come  back ! " 

LITTLE  did  our  Bonny  Bell  reck  of  the  plot  that  had  been 
laid  against  her  peace  of  mind.  She  was  as  joyous  as  a  wild 
sea-bird  when  we  drew  near  the  sea.  All  the  morning  she 
had  hurried  us  on  ;  and  we  were  at  the  station  some  twenty 
minutes  before  the  train  started.  Then  she  must  needs  sit 
on  the  northern  side  of  the  carriage,  close  in  by  the  window  ; 
and  all  at  once,  when  there  flashed  before  us  a  long  and 
level  stretch  of  grey-green,  she  uttered  a  quick  low  cry  of 

p. 


210  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

gladness,  as  though  the  last  wish  of   her  life  had  been 
realized. 

Yet  there  was  not  much  in  this  glimpse  of  the  sea  that  we 
got  as  we  ran  slowly  along  the  coast-line  towards  Conway. 
It  was  a  quiet  grey  day,  with  here  and  there  a  patch  of  blue 
overhead.  The  sea  was  stirred  only  by  a  ripple.  Here  and 
there  it  darkened  into  a  breezy  green  ;  but  for  the  most 
part  it  reflected  the  wan  sky  overhead.  The  shores  were  flat. 
The  tide  was  up,  and  not  a  rock  to  be  seen.  One  or  two 
small  boats  were  visible  ;  but  no  great  full-rigged  ship,  with 
all  her  white  sails  swelling  before  the  wind,  swept  onwards 
to  the  low  horizon.  But  it  was  the  sea — that  was  enough 
for  this  mad  girl  of  ours.  She  had  the  window  put  down, 
and  a  cold  odour  of  sea-weed  flew  through  the  carriage.  If 
there  was  not  much  blue  outside,  there  was  plenty  in  the 
deep  and  lambent  colour  of  her  eyes,  where  pure  joy  and 
delight  fought  strangely  with  the  half -saddening  influences 
produced  by  this  first  unexpected  meeting  with  the  sea. 

Turning  abruptly  away  from  the  coast-line — with  the 
lofty  walls  of  Conway  Castle  overlooking  the  long  sweep  of 
the  estuary — we  plunged  down  into  the  mountains.  The 
dark  masses  of  firs  up  among  the  rocks  w^ere  deepening  in 
gloom.  .There  was  an  unearthly  calm  on  the  surface  of  the 
river,  as  lif  the  reflection  of  the  boulders,  and  the  birch- 
bushes,  and  the  occasional  cottages,  lay  waiting  for  the  first 
stirring  of  a  shower.  Then,  far  away  up'  the  cleft  of  the 
valley,  a  nebulous  mist  came  floating  over  the  hills  ;  it  melted 
whole  mountains  into  a  soft  dull  grey  ;  it  blotted  out  dark 
green  forests  and  mighty  masses  of  rock  ;  until  a  pattering 
against  the  carriage  windows  told  us  that  the  rain  had 
begun. 

"  It  is  always  so  in  Wales,"  said  my  Lady,  with  a  sigh. 

But  when  we  ^got  out  at  Bettws-y-Coed,  you  would  not 
have  fancied  om.* Spirits  were  grievously  oppressed.  Indeed, 
I  often  remarked  that  we  never  enjoyed  our  wanderings  so 
much,  whether  in  the  phaeton  or  out  of  it,  as  when  there  was 
abundant  rain  about,  the  desperation  of  the  circumstances 
driving  us  into  being  recklessly  merry.  So  we  would  not 
take  the  omnibus  that  was  carrying  up  to  the  Swallow  Falls 
some  half-dozen  of  those  horrid  creatures,  the  tourists.  The 
deadly  dislike  we  bore  to  these  unoffending  people  was 


OF  A  PHAETON.  211 

remarkable.  "What  right  had  they  to  be  invading  this 
wonderful  valley  ?  What  right  had  they  to  leave  Bayswater 
and  occupy  seats  at  the  tables  d'hote,  of  hotels  ?  We  saw 
them  drive  away  with  a  secret  pleasure.  We  hoped  they 
would  get  wet,  and  swear  never  to  return  to  Wales.  We 
called  them  tourists,  in  short,  which  has  become  a  term 
of  opprobrium  among  Englishmen ;  but  we  would  have 
perished  rather  than  admit  for  a  moment  that  we  too  were 
tourists. 

It  did  not  rain  very  much.  There  was  a  strong  resinous 
odour  in  the  air,  from  the  spruce,  the  larch,  the  pines,  and 
the  breckans,  as  we  got  through  the  wood,  and  ventured 
down  the  slippery  paths  which  brought  us  in  front  of  the 
Swallow  Falls.  There  had  been  plenty  of  rain  ;  and  the 
foaming  jets  of  water  were  darting  among  the  rocks  very 
much  like  the  white  glimmer  of  the  martin  as  he  cuts  about 
the  eaves  of  a  house  in  the  twilight.  The  roar  of  the  river 
filled  the  air,  and  joined  in  chorus  the  rustling  of  the  trees. 
We  could  scarcely  hear  ourselves  speak.  It  was  not  a  time 
for  confidences.  We  returned  to  Bettws. 

But  the  Lieutenant,  driven  wild  by  the  impossibility  of 
placing  all  his  sorrows  before  Bell,  eagerly  assented  to  the 
proposal  that  we  should  go  and  see  the  Fairy  Glen — a  much 
more  retired  spot — after  luncheon.  The  dexterity  he 
displayed  in  hurrying  over  that  meal  was  remarkable.  It 
was  rather  a  scramble — for  a  number  of  visitors  were  in  the 
place ;  and  the  long  table  was  pretty  well  filled  up  ;  but 
with  a  fine  audacity  our  Uhlan  constituted  himself  waiter 
for  our  party,  and  simply  harried  the  hotel.  If  my  Lady's 
eyes  only  happened  to  wander  towards  a  particular  dish,  it 
was  before  her  in  a  twinkling.  The  Lieutenant  alarmed 
many  a  young  lady  there  by  first  begging  her  pardon  and 
then  reaching  over  her  shoulder  to  carry  off  some  huge 
plate  ;  although  he  presently  atoned  for  these  misdemeanours 
by  carving  a  couple  of  fowls  for  the  use  of  the  whole 
company.  He  also  made  the  acquaintance  of  a  governess 
who  was  in  charge  of  two  tender  little  women  of  twelve  and 
fourteen.  He  sat  down  by  the  governess  ;  discovered  that  she 
had  been  at  Bettws  for  some  weeks  ;  received  from  her  some 
appalling  statistics  of  the  rain  that  had  fallen  ;  then — for 
the  maids  were  rather  remiss — went  and  got  her  a  bottle  of 

p  2 


212  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

ale,  which  he  drew  for  her,  and  poured  out,  and  graciously 
handed  to  her.  Bell  was  covertly  laughing  all  the  time  :  my 
Lady  was  amazed. 

"  Now,"  he  said,  turning  in  quite  a  matter-of-fact  way  to 
us,  "  when  do  we  start  for  this  Fairy  Glen  ?  " 

"  Pray  don't  let  us  take  you  away  from  such  charming 
companionship,"  observed  my  Lady,  with  a  smile. 

"  Oh,  she  is  a  very  intelligent  person,"  says  the  Lieuten- 
ant ;  "  really  a  very  intelligent  person.  But  she  makes  a 
great  mistake  in  preferring  Schiller's  plays  to  Lessing's  for 
her  pupils.  I  tried  to  convince  her  of  that.  She  is  going 
to  the  Ehine  with  those  young  ladies,  later  on  in  the  year 
— to  Konigswinter.  Would  it  not  be  a  very  nice  thing  for 
us  all,  when  we  leave  the  phaeton  at  your  home,  to  go  for 
a  few  weeks  to  Konigswinter  ?  " 

"We  cannot  all  flirt  with  a  pretty  governess,"  says 
Tita. 

"  Now  that  is  too  bad  of  you  English  ladies,"  retorts  the 
Lieutenant.  "  You  must  always  think,  when  a  man  talks  to 
a  girl,  he  wants  to  be  in  love  with  her.  No — it  is  absurd. 
She  is  intelligent — a  good  talker — she  knows  very  many 
things — and  she  is  a  stranger  like  myself  in  an  hotel.  Why 
should  I  not  talk  to  her  ?  " 

"  You  are  quite  right,  Count  von  Eosen,"  says  Bell. 

Of  course  he  was  quite  right.  He  was  always  quite  right ! 
But  wait  a  bit. 

We  set  off  for  the  Fairy  Glen.  The  rain  had  ceased  ;  but 
the  broad  and  smooth  roads  were  yellow  with  water  ;  large 
drops  still  fell  from  the  trees  ;  and  the  air  was  humid  and 
warm.  The  Lieutenant  lit  a  cigar  about  as  big  as  a 
wooden  leg ;  and  Bell  insisted  on  us  two  falling  rather 
behind,  because  that  she  liked  the  scent  of  a  cigar  in  the 
open  air. 

We  crossed  the  well-known  Waterloo  Bridge — built  in  the 
same  year  as  that  which  chronicled  the  great  battle — and  we 
heard  the  Lieutenant  relating  to  Tita  how  several  of  his 
relatives  had  been  in  the  army  which  came  up  to  help  us  on 
that  day. 

"  You  know  we  had  won  before  you  came  up,"  said  my 
Lady,  stoutly. 

The  Lieutenant  laughed. 


OF  A  PHAETON.  213 

"  I  am  nob  sure  about  that,"  he  said  ;  "  but  you  did 
what  we  could  not  have  done — you  held  the  whole  French 
army  by  yourselves,  and  crippled  it  so  that  our  mere  appear- 
ance on  the  battle-field  was  enough." 

"  I  think  it  was  very  mean  of  both  of  you,"  interposed 
Bell,  "  to  win  a  battle  by  mere  force  of  numbers.  If  you 
had  given  Napoleon  a  chance — 

" Mademoiselle,"  said  von  Eosen,  "the  object  of  a 
campaign  is  to  win  battles — anyhow.  You  throw  away  the 
heroic  elements  of  the  old  single  combats  when  it  is  with 
armies  that  you  fight ;  and  you  take  all  advantages  you  can 
get.  But  who  was  the  braver  then — your  small  English 
army,  or  the  big  French  one  that  lost  the  whole  day  without 
overwhelming  their  enemy,  and  waited  until  we  came  down 
to  drive  them  back  ?  That  is  a  very  good  word — a  very 
strong  word — our  zurucTcgeiuorfen.  It  is  a  very  good  thing 
to  see  that  word  at  the  end  of  a  sentence  that  talks  of  your 
enemies." 

At  length  we  got  to  the  neighbourhood  of  the  Fairy 
Glen,  and  found  ourselves  in  among  the  wet  trees,  with  the 
roar  of  the  stream  reverberating  through  the  woods.  There 
are  a  great  many  paths  in  this  pretty  ravine.  You  can  go 
close  down  to  the  water,  and  find  still  pools  reflecting  the 
silver-lichened  rocks ;  or  you  can  clamber  along  the  high 
banks  through  the  birch  and  hazel  and  elm,  and  look  on 
the  white  waterfalls  beneath  you  that  sprinkle  the  ferns  and 
bushes  about  with  their  spray.  Four  people  need  not  stay 
together.  Perhaps  it  was  because  of  an  extraordinary 
change  in  the  aspect  of  the  day  that  Tita  and  I  lost  sight  of 
the  young  folks.  Indeed,  we  had  sat  down  upon  a  great 
smooth  boulder,  and  were  pensively  enjoying  the  sweet  scents 
around  and  the  plashing  of  the  stream,  when  this  strange 
thing  occurred,  so  that  we  never  remembered  that  our 
companions  had  gone.  Suddenly  into  the  gloomy  grey  day 
there  leaped  a  wild  glow  of  yellow  fire  ;  and  far  up  the 
narrowing  vista  of  the  glen — where  the  rocks  came  closer 
together — the  sunlight  smote  down  on  the  gleaming  green 
of  the  underwood,  until  it  shone  radiant  over  the  smooth 
pools.  The  light  came  nearer.  There  was  still  a  sort 
of  mist  of  dampness  in  the  atmosphere — hanging  about 
the  woods,  and  dulling  the  rich  colours  of  the  glen  ;  but  a 


214  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

the  sunlight  came  straggling  down  the  rocky  ravine,  a  dash 
of  blue  gleamed  out  overhead,  and  a  rush  of  wind  through 
the  dripping  branches  seemed  to  say  that  the  mists  were 
being  swept  off  the  mountains  and  towards  the  sea.  The 
Fairy  Glen  was  now  a  blaze  of  transparent  green  and  fine 
gold,  with  white  diamonds  of  raindrops  glittering  on  the 
ferns  and  moss  and  bushes.  It  grew  warm,  too,  down  in 
the  hollow  ;  and  the  sweet  odours  of  the  forest  above  —  • 
woodruff,  and  campion,  and  wild  mint,  and  some  decayed 
leaves  of  the  great  St.  John's  wort  —  all  stole  out  into  the 
moist  air. 

"  Where  have  they  gone  ?  "  says  Tita,  almost  sharply. 

"  My  dear,"  I  say  to  her,  "  you  were  young  yourself  once. 
It's  a  good  time  ago  —  but  still  -  " 

"  Bell  never  asked  for  letters  this  morning,"  remarks  my 
Lady,  showing  the  direction  her  thoughts  are  taking. 

"  No  matter,  Arthur  will  be  meeting  us  directly^  He  is 
sure  to  come  over  to  our  route  in  his  dog-cart." 

"  We  must  find  them,  and  get  back  to  Bettws-y-Coed,"  is 
the  only  reply  which  is  vouchsafed. 

They  were  not  far  to  seek.  When  we  had  clambered  up 
the  steep  bank  to  the  path  overhead,  Bell  and  the  Lieutenant 
were  standing  in  the  road,  silent.  As  soon  as  they  saw  us, 
they  came  slowly  walking  down.  Neither  spoke  a  word. 
Somehow,  Bell  managed  to  attach  herself  to  Tita  ;  and 
these  two  went  on  ahead. 

"  You  were  right,"  said  the  Lieutenant,  in  a  low  voice, 
very  different  from  his  ordinary  light  and  careless  fashion. 

"  You  have  asked  her,  then  ?  " 


"  And  she  refused  ?  " 

"Yes." 

"  I  thought  she  would." 

"  Now,"  he  said,  "  I  suppose  I  ought  to  go  back  to 
London.* 

"  Why  ?  " 

"  It  will  not  be  pleasant  for  her  —  my  being  here.  It  will 
be  very  embarrassing  to  both  of  us." 

"  Nonsense.     She  will  regard  it  as  a  joke." 

I  am  afraid  our  Uhlan  looked  rather  savage  at  this 
moment. 


Ofi  A  PHAETON.  215 

"  Don't  you  see,"  I  observed  to  him  seriously, "  that  if  you 
go  away  in  this  manner  you  will  give  the  affair  a  tremendous 
importance,  and  make  all  sorts  of  explanations  necessary  ? 
Why  not  school  yourself  to  meeting  her  on  ordinary  terms  ; 
and  take  it  that  your  question  was  a  sort  of  preliminary 
sounding,  as  it  were,  without  prejudice  to  either  ?  " 

"  Then  you  think  I  should  ask  her  again,  at  some  future 
time  ?  "  he  said  eagerly. 

"  I  don't  think  anything  of  the  kind." 

"  Then  why  should  I  remain  here  ?  " 

"  I  hope  you  did  not  come  with  us  merely  for  the  purpose 
of  proposing  to  Bell." 

"  No  ;  that  is  true  enough — but  our  relations  are  now  all 
altered.  I  do  not  know  what  to  do." 

"  Don't  do  anything  :  meet  her  as  if  nothing  of  the  kind 
had  occurred.  A  sensible  girl  like  her  will  think  more 
highly  of  you  in  doing  that  than  in  doing  some  wild  and 
mad  thing,  which  will  only  have  the  effect  of  annoying  her 
and  yourself.  Did  she  give  you  any  reason  ?  " 

"  I  do  not  know,"  said  von  Rosen,  disconsolately.  "  I  am 
not  sure  what  I  said.  Perhaps  I  did  not  explain  enough. 
Perhaps  she  thought  me  blunt,  rude,  coarse,  in  asking  her 
so  suddenly.  It  was  all  a  sort  of  fire  for  a  minute  or  two — 
and  then  the  cold  water  came — and  that  lasts." 

The  two  women  were  now  far  ahead — surely  they  were 
walking  fast  that  Bell  might  have  an  opportunity  of 
confiding  all  her  perplexities  to  her  friend. 
i*. "  I  suppose,"  said  von  Rosen,  "  that  I  suffer  for  my  own 
folly.  I  might  have  known.  But  for  this  day  or  two  back, 
it  has  seemed  so  great  a  chance  to  me — of  getting  her  to 
promise  at  least  to  think  of  it — and  the  prospect  of  having 
such  a  wife  as  that — it  was  all  too  much.  Perhaps  I  have 
done  the  worst  for  myself  by  the  hurry  ;  but  was  it  not 
excusable  in  a  man  to  be  in  a  hurry  to  ask  such  a  girl  to  be 
his  wife  ?  And  there  is  no  harm  in  knowing  soon  that  all 
that  was  impossible." 

Doubtless  it  was  comforting  to  him  to  go  on  talking.  I 
wondered  what  Bell  was  saying  at  this  moment  ;  and 
whether  a  comparison  of  their  respective  views  would 
throw  some  light  on  the  subject.  As  for  the  Lieutenant, 
he  seemed  to  regard  Bell's  decision  as  final.  If  he  had 


216  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

been  a  little  older,  he  might  not ;  but  having  just  been 
plunged  from  the  pinnacle  of  hope  into  an  abyss  of 
despair,  he  was  too  stunned  to  think  of  clambering  up  again 
by  degrees. 

.  But  even  at  this  time  all  his  thoughts  were  directed  to 
the  best  means  of  making  his  presence  as  little  of  an  em- 
barrassment to  Bell  as  possible. 

"  This  evening  will  pass  away  very  well,"  he  said,  "  for 
everybody  will  be  talking  at  dinner,  and  we  need  not  to 
address  each  other  ;  but  to-morrow — if  you  think  this  better 
that  I  remain  with  you — then  you  will  drive  the  phaeton, 
and  you  will  give  Mademoiselle  the  front  seat — for  the  whole 
day  ?  Is  it  agreed,  yes  ?  " 

"  Certainly.  You  must  not  think  of  leaving  us  at  present. 
You  see,  if  you  went  away  we  should  have  to  send  for 
Arthur." 

A  sort  of  flame  blazed  up  into  the  face  of  the  Lieutenant ; 
and  he  said,  in  a  rapid  and  vehement  way — • 

"  This  thing  I  will  say  to  you — if  Mademoiselle  will  not 
marry  me — good.  It  is  the  right  of  every  girl  to  have  her 
choice.  But  if  you  allow  her  to  marry  that  pitiful  fellow,  it 
will  be  a  shame — and  you  will  not  forgive  yourself,  either 
Madame  or  you,  in  the  years  afterwards — that  I  am  quite 
sure  of ! " 

"But  what  have  we  to  do  with  Bell's  choice  of  a 
husband  ?  " 

"  You  talked  just  now  of  sending  for  him  to  join  your 


rhy,  Bell  isn't  bound  to  marry  everyone  who  comes  for 
a  drive  with  us.  Your  own  case  is  one  in  point." 

"  But  this  is  quite  different.  This  wretched  fellow  thinks 
he  has  a  claim  upon  her,  as  being  an  old  friend,  and  all 
that  stupid  nonsense ;  and  I  know  that  she  has  a  strange 
idea  that  she  owes  to  him — — 

The  Lieutenant  suddenly  stopped. 

"  No,"  he  said,  "  I  will  not  repeat  to  you  what  she  did 
tell  to  me  this  afternoon.  But  I  think  you  know  it  all ; 
and  it  will  be  very  bad  of  you  to  make  a  sacrifice  of  her  by 
bringing  him  here " 

"  If  you  remain  in  the  phaeton,  we  can't." 

"  Then  I  will  remain." 


OF  A  PHAETON.  217 

"  Thank  you.  As  Tita  and  I  have  to  consider  ourselves 
just  a  little  bit — amid  all  this  whirl  of  love-making  and 
reckless  generosity — I  must  say  we  prefer  your  society  to 
that  of  Master  Arthur." 

"  That  is  a  very  good  compliment ! "  says  von  Eosen, 
with  an  ungracious  sneer — for  who  ever  heard  of  a 
young  man  of  twenty-six  being  just  to  a  young  man  of 
twenty-two  when  both  wanted  to  marry  the  same  young 
lady  ? 

We  overtook  our  companions.  Bell  and  I  walked  on 
together  to  the  hotel,  and  subsequently  down  to  the 
station.  An  air  of  gloom  seemed  to  hang  over  the  heavy 
forests  far  up  amid  the  grey  rocks.  The  river  had  a 
mournful  sound  as  it  came  rushing  down  between  the 
mighty  boulders.  Bell  scarcely  uttered  a  word  as  we  got 
into  the  carriage  and  slowly  steamed  away  from  the 
platform. 

Whither  had  gone  the  joy  of  her  face  ?  She  was  once 
more  approaching  the  sea.  Under  ordinary  circumstances 
you  would  have  seen  an  anticipatory  light  in  her  blue  eyes, 
as  if  she  already  heard  the  long  plash  of  the  waves,  and 
smelt  the  sea-weed.  Now  she  sat  in  a  corner  of  the 
carriage  ;  and  when  at  last  we  came  in  view  of  the  most 
beautiful  sight  that  we  had  yet  met  with  on  our  journey, 
she  sat  and  gazed  at  it  with  the  eyes  of  one  distraught. 

That  was  a  rare  and  striking  picture  we  saw  when  we 
got  back  to  the  coast.  The  heavy  rain-clouds  had  sunk 
down  until  they  formed  a  low  dense  wall  of  purple  all 
along  the  line  of  the  west,  between  the  sea  and  the  sky. 
That  heavy  bar  of  cloud  was  almost  black  ;  but  just  above 
it  there  was  a  calm  fair  stretch  of  lambent  green,  with 
here  and  there  a  torn  shred  of  crimson  and  one  or  two 
lines  of  sharp  gold,  lying  parallel  with  the  horizon.  Then 
away  over  in  the  east  again  were  some  windy  masses  of 
cloud  that  had  caught  a  blush  of  red  ;  and  these  had  sent  a 
pale  reflection  down  on  the  sea — a  sort  of  salmon-colour 
that  seemed  the  complement  of  the  still  gold-green  over- 
head. 

The  sunset  touched  faintly  the  low  mountains  about  the 
mouth  of  the  Dee.  A  rose-red  glimmer  struck  the  glass  of 
the  window  at  which  Bell  sat  ;  and  then,  as  the  train  made 


218  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

a  slight  curve  in  the  line  running  by  the  shore,  the  warm 
light  entered  and  lit  up  her  face  with  a  rich  and  beautiful 
glow.  The  Lieutenant,  hidden  in  the  dusk  of  the  opposite 
corner,  was  regarding  her  with  wistful  eyes.  Perhaps  he 
thought  that  now,  more  than  ever,  she  looked  like  some 
celestial  being  far  out  of  his  reach,  whom  he  had  dared  to 
hope  would  forsake  her  strange  altitudes  and  share  his  life 
with  him.  Tita,  saying  nothing,  was  also  gazing  out  of 
the  window,  and  probably  pondering  on  the  unhappy  climax 
that  seemed  to  put  an  end  to  her  friendly  hopes. 

Darkness  fell  over  land  and  sea.  The  great  plain  of 
water  seemed  to  fade  away  into  the  gloom  of  the.  horizon  ; 
but  here,  close  at  hand,  the  pools  on  the  shore  occasionally 
caught  the  last  reflection  of  the  sky,  and  flashed  out  a  gleam 
of  yellow  fire.  The  wild  intensity  of  the  colours  was  almost 
painful  to  the  eyes — the  dark  blue-green  of  the  shore-plants 
and  the  sea-grass  ;  the  gathering  purple  of  the  sea  ;  the 
black  rocks  on  the  sand  ;  and  then  that  sudden  bewildering 
flash  of  gold  from  some  solitary  pool.  The  mountains 
in  the  south  had  now  disappeared  ;  and  were  doubtless — 
away  in  that  mysterious  darkness — wreathing  themselves 
in  the  cold  *  night-mists  that  were  slowly  rising  from  the 
woods  and  the  valleys  and  the  streams. — Such  was  our  one 
and  only  glimpse  of  Wales ;  and  the  day  that  Bell  had 
looked  forward  to  with  such  eager  delight  had  closed  in 
silence  and  despair. 

When  we  got  back  to  the  hotel,  a  letter  from  Arthur  was 
lying  on  the  table. 


CHAPTEE  XVIII. 

THE  COLLAPSE. 

"Thy  crowded  ports, 

Where  rising  rnasts  an  endless  prospect  yield, 
With  labour  burn,  and  echo  to  the  shouts 
Of  hurried  sailor,  as  he  hearty  waves 
His  last  adieu,  and,  loosening  every  sheet, 
Kesigns  the  spreading  vessel  to  the  wind." 

THE  following  correspondence  has  been  handed  to  us  for 
publication : — • 


OF  A  PHAETON.  219 

"COWLEY  HOUSE,  TWICKENHAM, 
July  — ,  1871. 

"  Mon  cher  Mamma, — Doctor  Ashburton  dire  me  que  je 
ecris  a  vous  dans  Fransais  je  sais  Fransais  un  pettit  et  ici 
est  un  letter  a  vpus  dans  Fransais  mon  cher  Mamma  le  Pony 
est  trai  bien  et  je  sui  mon  cher  Mamma. 

"  Yoter  aime  fils, 

"  TOM." 

"  COWLEY  HOUSE,  TWICKENHAM, 
July  —  1871. 

"My  dear  Papa, — Tom  as  written  Mamma  a  letter  in 
French  and  Doctor  Ashburton  says  I  must  Begin  to  learn 
French  too  but  Tom  says  it  is  very  difficult  and  it  takes  a 
long  time  to  write  a  Letter  with  the  dixonary  and  he  says 
my  dear  Papa  that  we  must  learn  German  Too  but  please 
may  I  learn  German  first  and  you  will  give  my  love  to  the 
German  gentleman  who  gave  us  the  poney  he  is  very  well 
my  dear  Papa  and  very  fat  and  round  and  hard  in  the  sides 
Harry  French  says  if  he  goes  on  eeting  like  that  he  will 
burst  but  me  and  Tom  only  laughed  at  him  and  we  rode 
him  down  to  Stanes  and  back  which  is  a  long  way  and  I 
only  tumbled  off  twice  but  once  into  the  ditch  for  he 
wanted  to  eat  the  Grass  and  I  Pooled  at  him  and  slipt  over 
is  head  but  I  was  not  much  "Wet  and  I  went  to  bed  until 
Jane  dryed  all  my  close  and  no  one  new  of  it  but  her  Pleese 
my  dear  papa  how  is  Auntie  Bell,  and  we  send  our  love  to 
her,  and  to  my  dear  mamma  and  I  am  your  affexnate  son, 

"  JACK." 

"  P.S.  All  the  monney  you  sent  as  gone  away  for  oats 
and  beans  and  hay.  Pleese  my  dear  papa  to  send  a  good 
lot  more." 

" INN,  OAKHAM,  Friday  Afternoon. 

" .  .  .  .  You  will  see  I  have  slightly  departed  from  the 
route  I  described  in  a  telegram  to  Bell.  Indeed,  I  find 
myself  so  untrammelled  in  driving  this  light  dog-cart,  with 
a  powerful  little  animal  that  never  seems  fatigued,  that  I 
can  go  anywhere  without  fearing  there  will  not  be  accom- 
modation for  a  pair  of  horses  and  a  large  party.  I  am  sure 
you  must  often  have  been  put  to  straits  in  securing  rooms 


220  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

for  so  many  at  a  small  country  inn.  Probably  you  know  the 
horse  I  have  got— it  is  the  cob  that  Major  Quinet  bought 
from  Heathcote.  I  saw  the  Major  by  the  merest  accident 
when  I  returned  from  Worcester  to  London  ;  told  him  what 
I  meant  to  do  ;  he  offered  me  the  cob  with  the  greatest 
good-nature  ;  and  as  I  knew  I  should  be  safer  with  it  than 
anything  I  could  hire,  I  accepted.  You  will  see  I  have 
come  a  good  pace.  I  started  on  the  Tuesday  morning  after 
I  saw  you  at  Worcester,  and  here  I  am  at  Oakham,  rather 
over  ninety  miles.  To-morrow  I  hope  to  be  in  Nottingham, 
about  other  thirty.  Perhaps,  if  you  will  allow  me,  I  may 
strike  across  country,  by  Huddersfield  and  Skipton,  and  pay 
you  a  visit  at  Kendal.  I  hope  Bell  is  well,  and  that  you 
are  not  having  much  rain.  I  have  had  the  most  delightful 
weather. 

"  Yours  sincerely, 

"  ARTHUR  ASHBURTON." 

"It  is  a  race,"  said  the  Lieutenant,  "who  shall  be  at 
Carlisle  first." 

"  Arthur  will  beat,"  remarked  Bell,  looking  to  my  Lady  ; 
and  although  nothing  could  have  been  more  innocent  than 
that  observation,  it  seemed  rather  to  take  von  Eosen  down 
a  bit.  He  turned  to  the  window  and  looked  out. 

"  I  think  it  was  very  foolish  of  Major  Quinet  to  lend  him 
that  beautiful  little  bay  cob  to  go  on  such  an  expedition  as 
that,"  said  Tita.  "  He  will  ruin  it  entirely.  Fancy  going 
thirty  miles  a  day  without  giving  the  poor  animal  a  day's 
rest  !  Why  should  he  be  so  anxious  to  overtake  us  ?  If 
we  had  particularly  wanted  him  to  accompany  us,  we 
should  have  asked  him  to  do  so." 

"  He  does  not  propose  to  accompany  you,"  I  observe. 
"  He  is  only  coming  to  pay  you  a  visit." 

"  I  know  what  that  means,"  says  my  Lady,  with  a  tiny 
shrug  ;  "  something  like  the  arrival  of  a  mother-in-law,  with 
a  carriageful  of  luggage." 

"  My  dear,"  I  reply  to  her,  "  why  should  you  speak  scorn- 
fully of  the  amiable  and  excellent  lady  who  is  responsible  for 
your  bringing  up  ?  " 

"  I  was  not  speaking  of  my  mamma,"  says  Tita,  "  but  of 
the  abstract  mother-in-law." 


OF  A  PHAETON.  221 

"A  man  never  objects  to  an  abstract  mother-in-law. 
Now,  your  mamma — although  she  is  not  to  be  considered  as 
a  mother-in-law " 

"  My  mamma  never  visits  me  but  at  my  own  request," 
says  my  Lady,  with  something  of  loftiness  in  her  manner  ; 
"  and  I  am  sorry  she  makes  her  visits  so  short,  for  when  she 
is  in  the  house,  I  am  treated  with  some  show  of  attention 
and  respect." 

"  Well,"  I  say  to  her,  "  if  a  mother-in-law  can  do  no 

better  than  encourage  hypocrisy But  I  bear  no  malice. 

I  will  take  some  sugar,  if  you  please." 

"And  as  for  Arthur,"  continues  Tita,  turning  to  Bell, 
"  what  must  I  say  to  him  ?  " 

"  Only  that  we  shall  be  pleased  to  see  him,  I  suppose,"  is 
the  answer. 

The  Lieutenant  stares  out  into  the  streets  of  Chester,  as 
though  he  did  not  hear. 

"  We  cannot  ask  him  to  go  with  us — it  would  look  too 
absurd — a  dog-cart  trotting  after  us  all  the  way." 

"  He  might  be_in  front,"  says  Bell,  "  if  the  cob  is  so  good 
a  little  animal  as  he  says." 

"  I  wonder  how  Major  Quinet  could  have  been  so  stupid  !  " 
says  Tita,  with  a  sort  of  suppressed  vexation. 

The  reader  may  remember  that  a  few  days  ago  Major 
Quinet  was  a  white-souled  angel  of  a  man,  to  whom  my 
Lady  had  given  one  of  those  formal  specifications  of 
character  which  she  has  always  at  hand  when  anyone  is 
attacked.  Well,  one  of  the  party  humbly  recalls  that 
circumstance.  He  asks  in  what  way  Major  Quinet  has 
changed  within  the  past  two  days.  Tita  looks  up,  with 
that  sort  of  quick,  triumphant  glance  which  tells  that  she 
has  a  reply  ready,  and  says — 

"  If  Major  Quinet  has  committed  a  fault,  it  is  one  of 
generosity.  That  is  an  error  not  common  among  men — 
especially  men  who  have  horses,  and  who  would  rather  see 
their  own  wives  walk  through  the  mud  to  the  station  than 
let  their  horses  get  wet." 

"  Bell,  what  is  good  for  you,  when  you're  jumped  upon  ?  " 

"  Patience,"  says  Bell  :  and  then  we  go  out  into  the  old 
and  grey  streets  of  Chester. 

It  was  curious  to  notice  now  the  demeanour  of    our 


222  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

hapless  Lieutenant  towards  Bell.  He  had  had  a  whole 
night  to  think  over  his  position ;  and  in  the  morning  he 
seemed  to  have  for  the  first  time  fully  realized  the  hope- 
lessness of  his  case.  He  spoke  of  it — before  the  women 
came  down — in  a  grave,  matter-of-fact  way,  not  making 
any  protestation  of  suffering,  but  calmly  accepting  it  as  a 
matter  for  regret.  One  could  easily  see,  however,  that  a 
good  deal  of  genuine  feeling  lay  behind  these  brief  words. 

Then,  when  Bell  came  down  he  showed  her  a  vast 
amount  of  studied  respect ;  but  spoke  to  her  of  one  or  two 
ordinary  matters  in  a  careless  tone,  as  if  to  assure  everybody 
that  nothing  particular  had  happened.  The  girl  herself 
was  not  equal  to  any  such  effort  of  amiable  hypocrisy.  She 
was  very  timid.  She  agreed  with  him  in  a  hurried  way 
whenever  he  made  the  most  insignificant  statement  ;  and 
showed  herself  obtrusively  anxious  to  take  his  side  when 
Queen  Tita,  for  example,  doubted  the  efficacy  of  carbolic 
soap.  The  Lieutenant  had  no  great  interest  in  carbolic 
soap — had  never  seen  it,  indeed,  until  that  morning  ;  but 
Bell  was  so  anxious  to.  be  kind  to  him  that  she  defended 
the  compound  as  if  she  had  been  the  inventor  and  patentee 
of  it. 

"  It  is  very  awkward  for  me,"  said  the  Lieutenant,  as  we 
were  strolling  through  the  quaint  thoroughfares — Bell  and 
my  Lady  leading  the  way  along  the  piazzas  formed  on  the 
first  floor  of  the  houses  ;  "  it  is  very  awkward  for  me  to  be 
always  meeting  her,  and  more  especially  in  a  room.  And 
she  seems  to  think  that  she  has  done  me  some  wrong.  That 
is  not  so.  That  is  quite  a  mistake.  It  is  a  misfortune — • 
that  is  all ;  and  the  fault  is  mine  that  I  did  not  understand 
sooner.  Yet  I  wish  we  were  again  in  the  phaeton.  Then 
there  is  great  life — motion — something  to  do  and  think 
about.  I  cannot  bear  this  doing  of  nothing." 

Well,  if  the  Lieutenant's  restlessness  was  to  be  appeased  by 
hard  work,  he  was  likely  to  have  enough  of  it  that  day  ; 
for  we  were  shortly  to  take  the  horses  and  phaeton  across 
the  estuary  of  the  Mersey,  by  one  of  the  Birkenhead 
ferries ;  and  anyone  who  has  engaged  in  that  pleasing 
operation  knows  the  excitement  of  it.  Von  Rosen  chafed 
against  the  placid  monotony  of  the  Chester  streets.  The 
passages  under  the  porticoes  are  found  to  be  rather  narrow 


OF  A  PHAETON.  223 

of  a  morning,  when  a  crowd  of  women  and  girls  have  come 
out  to  look  at  the  shops,  and  when  the  only  alternative  to 
waiting  one's  turn  and  getting  along  is  to  descend 
ignominiously  into  the  thoroughfare  below.  Now,  no 
stranger  who  comes  to  Chester  would  think  of  walking 
along  an  ordinary  pavement,  so  long  as  he  can  pace  through 
those  quaint  old  galleries  that  are  built  on  the  roofs  of  the 
ground-row  of  shops  and  cellars.  The  Lieutenant  hung 
aimlessly  about — just  as  you  may  see  a  husband  lounging 
and  staring  in  Eegent-street  while  his  wife  is  examining 
with  a  deadly  interest  the  milliners'  and  jewellers'  windows. 
Bell  bought  presents  for  the  boys.  My  Lady  purchased 
photographs.  In  fact,  we  conducted  ourselves  like  the 
honest  Briton  abroad,  who  buys  a  lot  of  useless  articles  in 
every  town  he  comes  to,  chiefly  because  he  has  nothing  else 
to  do,  and  may  as  well  seize  that  opportunity  of  talking  to 
the  natives. 

Then  our  bonny  bays  were  put  into  the  phaeton,  and, 
with  a  great  sense  of  freedom  shining  on  the  face  of  our 
Uhlan,  we  started  once  more  for  the  north.  Bell  was 
sitting  beside  me.  That  had  been  part  of  the  arrangement. 
But  why  was  she  so  pensive  ?  Why  this  profession  of 
tenderness,  and  an  extreme  interest  and  kindness  ?  I  had 
done  her  no  injury. 

"  Bell,"  I  said  to  her,  "  have  you  left  all  your  wildness 
behind  you — buried  down  at  the  foot  of  Box  Hill,  or  calmly 
interred  under  a  block  of  stone  up  on  Mickleham  Downs  ? 
Where  be  your  gibes  now  ?  your  gambols  ?  your  songs  ? 
your  flashes  of  merriment,  that  were  wont  to  set  my  Lady 
frowning  at  you  as  if  you  were  an  incorrigible  Tom-boy  ? 
Come,  now,  touching  that  ballad  of  the  Bailiff's  Daughter — 
the  guitar  has  not  been  out  for  a  long  time 

A  small  gloved  hand  was  gently  and  furtively  laid  on  my 
arm.  There  was  to  be  no  singing. 

"  I  think,"  said  Bell,  aloud,  "  that  this  is  a  very  pretty 
piece  of  country  to  lie  between  two  such  big  towns  as 
Chester  and  Liverpool." 

The  remark  was  not  very  profound,  but  it  was  accurate  ; 
and  it  served  its  purpose  of  pushing  away  finally  that 
suggestion  about  the  guitar.  We  were  now  driving  up  the 
long  neck  of  land  lying  between  the  parallel  estuaries  of  the 


224  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

Dee  and  the  Mersey.  About  Backford,  and  on  by  Great 
Button  and  Childer  Thornton  to  Eastham,  the  drive  was 
pleasant  enough — the  windy  day  and  passing  clouds  giving 
movement  and  variety  to  the  undulating  pasture-land  and 
the  level  fields  of  the  farms.  But  as  we  drove  carelessly 
through  the  green  landscape,  all  of  a  sudden  we  saw  before 
us  a  great  forest  of  masts — grey  streaks  in  the  midst  of  the 
horizon — and  behind  them  a  cloud  of  smoke  arising  from 
an  immense  stretch  of  houses.  We  discovered,  too,  the  line 
of  the  Mersey ;  and  by  and  by  we  could  see  its  banks 
widening,  until  the  boats  in  the  bed  of  the  stream  could  be 
vaguely  made  out  in  the  distance. 

"  Shall  we  remain  in  Liverpool  this  evening  ? "  Bell 
inquired. 

"  As  you  please." 

Bell  had  been  more  eager  than  any  of  us  to  hurry  on  our 
passage  to  the  north,  that  we  should  have  abundant  leisure 
in  the  Lake  country.  But  a  young  lady  who  finds  herself 
in  an  embarrassing  position  may  imagine  that  the  best  refuge 
she  can  have  in  the  evening  is  the  theatre. 

"  Pray  don't,"  said  Tita.  "  We  shall  be  at  Liverpool 
presently,  and  it  would  be  a  great  pity  to  throw  away  a  day, 
when  we  shall  want  all  the  spare  time  we  can  get  when  we 
reach  Kendal." 

Kendal !  It  was  the  town  at  which  Arthur  was  to  meet 
us.  But  of  course  my  Lady  had  her  way.  Since  von  Rosen 
chose  to  sit  mute,  the  decision  rested  with  her  ;  and  so  the 
driver,  being  of  an  equable  disposition,  and  valuing  the 
peace  of  mind  of  the  party  far  above  the  respect  that  ought 
to  have  been  shown  to  Liverpool,  meekly  took  his  orders, 
and  sent  the  horses  on. 

But  it  was  a  long  way  to  Liverpool,  despite  Queen  Tita's 
assurances.  The  appearances  of  the  landscape  were 
deceitful.  The  smoke  on  the  other  side  of  the  river  seemed 
to  indicate  that  the  city  was  close  at  hand;  but  we 
continued  to  roll  along  the  level  road  without  apparently 
coming  one  whit  nearer  Birkenhead.  We  crossed  Brom- 
borough  Pool.  We  went  by  Primrose  Hill.  We  drove 
past  the  grounds  apparently  surrounding  some  mansion, 
only  to  find  the  level  road  still  stretching  on  before  us 
Then  there  were  a  few  cottages.  Houses  of  an  unmis- 


OF  A  PHAETON.  225 

takably  civic  look  began  to  appear.  Suburban  villas  with 
gardens  walled  in  with  brick  studded  the  roadside.  Factories 
glimmered  grey  in  the  distance.  An  odour  of  coal-smoke 
was  perceptible  in  the  air ;  and  finally,  with  a  doleful 
satisfaction,  we  had  the  wheels  of  the  phaeton  rattling  over 
a  grimy  street,  and  we  knew  we  were  in  Birkenhead. 

There  was  some  excuse  for  the  Lieutenant  losing  his 
temper — even  if  he  had  not  been  in  rather  a  gloomy  mood, 
to  begin  with.  The  arrangements  for  the  transference  of 
carriage  horses  across  the  Mersey  are  of  a  nebulous 
description.  When  we  drove  down  the  narrow  passage  to 
Tranmere  Ferry,  the  only  official  we  could  secure  was  a 
hulking  lout  of  a  fellow  of  decidedly  hang-dog  aspect.  Yon 
Rosen  asked  him,  civilly  enough,  if  there  was  anyone  about 
who  could  take  the  horses  out,  and  superintend  the  placing 
of  them  and  the  phaeton  in  the  ferry.  There  was  no  such 
person.  Our  friend  in  moleskin  hinted  in  a  surly  fashion 
that  the  Lieutenant  might  do  it  for  himself.  But  he  would 
help,  he  said  ;  and  therewith  he  growled  something  about 
being  paid  for  his  trouble.  I  began  to  fear  for  the  safety 
of  that  man.  The  river  is  deep  just  close  by. 

Bell  and  Tita  had  to  be  got  out,  and  tickets  taken  for 
the  party  and  for  the  horses  and  phaeton.  When  I 
returned,  the  Lieutenant,  with  rather  a  firm-set  mouth,  was 
himself  taking  the  horses  out,  while  the  loafer  in  moleskin 
stood  at  some  little  distance,  scowling  and  muttering 
scornful  observations  at  the  same  time. 

"  Ha  !  have  you  got  the  tickets  ? "  said  our  Uhlan. 
"  That  is  very  good.  We  shall  do  by  ourselves.  Can  you 
get  out  the  nosebags,  that  we  shall  pacify  them  on  going 
across  ?  I  have  told  this  fellow — if  he  comes  near  to  the 
horses — if  he  speaks  one  more  word  to  me — he  will  be  in 
the  river  the  next  moment ;  and  that  is  quite  sure  as  I 
am  alive." 

But  there  was  no  one  who  could  keep  the  horses  quiet 
like  Bell.  When  they  were  taken  down  the  little  pier, 
she  walked  by  their  heads,  and  spoke  to  them,  and 
stroked  their  noses  :  and  then  she  swiftly  got  on  board 
to  receive  them.  The  Lieutenant  took  hold  of  Pollux. 
The  animal  had  been  quiet  enough,  even  with  the  steamer 
blowing  and  puffing  in  front  of  him,  but  when  he  found 

Q 


226  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

his  hoofs  striking  on  the  planks  between  the  pier  and  the 
steamer,  he  threw  up  his  head,  and  strove  to  back.  The 
Lieutenant  held  on  by  both  hands.  The  horse  went  back 
another  step.  It  was  a  perilous  moment ;  for  there  is  no 
railing  to  the  board  which  forms  the  gangway  to  those 
ferry-steamers,  and  if  the  animal  had  gone  to  one  side  or 
the  other,  he  and  von  Rosen  would  have  been  in  the  water 
together.  But  with  a  "  Hi  !  hoop  !  "  and  a  little  touch  of 
the  whip  from  behind,  the  horse  sprang  forward,  and  was 
in  the  boat  before  he  knew.  And  there  was  Bell  at  his 
head,  talking  in  an  endearing  fashion  to  him  as  the 
Lieutenant  pulled  the  strap  of  the  nosebag  up  ;  and  one 
horse  was  safe. 

There  was  less  to  do  with  Castor  ;  that  prudent  animal, 
with  his  eyes  staring  wildly  around,  felt  his  way  gingerly  on 
the  sounding  board,  but  did  not  pause  all  the  same.  Then 
he  too  had  his  nosebag  to  comfort  him ;  and  when  the 
steamer  uttered  a  yell  of  a  whistle  through  its  steam-pipe, 
the  two  horses  only  started  and  knocked  their  hoofs  about 
on  the  deck — for  they  were  very  well  employed,  and  Bell 
was  standing  in  front  of  their  heads,  talking  to  them  and 
pacifying  them. 

Then  we  steamed  slowly  out  into  the  broad  estuary.  A 
strong  wind  was  blowing  up  channel ;  and  the  yellow-brown 
waves  were  splashing  about  with  here  and  there  a  bold  dash 
of  blue  on  them  from,  the  gusty  sky  overhead.  Far  away 
down  the  Mersey  the  shipping  seemed  to  be  like  a  cloud 
along  the  two  shores  ;  and  out  on  the  wide  surface  of  the 
river  were  large  vessels  being  tugged  about,  and  mighty 
steamers  coming  up  to  the  Liverpool  piers.  When  one  of 
these  bore  down  upon  us  so  closely  that  she  seemed  to 
overlook  our  little  boat,  the  two  horses  forgot  their  corn 
and  flung  their  heads  about  a  bit ;  but  the  Lieutenant  had 
a  firm  grip  of  them,  and  they  were  eventually  quieted. 

He  had  by  this  time  recovered  from  his  fit  of  wrath. 
Indeed,  he  laughed  heartily  over  the  matter,  and  said — 

"  I  am  afraid  I  did  give  that  lounging  fellow  a  great 
fright.  He  does  not  understand  German,  I  suppose ;  but 
the  sound  of  what  I  said  to  him  had  great  effect  upon  him — • 
I  can  assure  you  of  that.  He  retreated  from  me  hastily. 
It  was  some  time  before  he  could  make  out  what  had 


OF  A  PHAETON.  227 

happened  to  him ;  and  then  he  did  not  return  to  the 
phaeton." 

The  horses  bore  the  landing  on  the  other  side  very  well ; 
and,  with  but  an  occasional  tremulous  start,  permitted  them- 
selves to  be  put-to  on  the  quay,  amid  the  roar  and  confusion 
of  arriving  and  departing  steamers.  "We  were  greatly  helped 
in  this  matter  by  an  amiable  policeman,  who  will  some  day, 
I  hope,  become  Colonel  and  Superintendent  of  the  Metro- 
politan Force. 

Werther,  amid  all  this  turmoil,  was  beginning  to  forget 
his  sorrows.  We  had  a  busy  time  of  it.  He  and  Bell  had 
been  so  occupied  with  the  horses  in  getting  them  over  that 
they  had  talked  almost  frankly  to  each  other  ;  and  now 
there  occurred  some  continuation  of  the  excitement  in  the 
difficulties  that  beset  us.  For,  after  we  had  driven  into  the 
crowded  streets,  we  found  that  the  large  hotels  in  Liverpool 
have  no  mews  attached  to  them  ;  and  in  our  endeavours  to 
secure  in  one  place  entertainment  for  both  man  and  beast, 
some  considerable  portion  of  our  time  was  consumed.  At 
length  we  found  stabling  in  Hatton  Garden  ;  and  then  we 
were  thrown  on  the  wide  world  of  Liverpool  to  look  after 
our  own  sustenance. 

"  Mademoiselle,"  said  the  Lieutenant — rather  avoiding 
the  direct  look  of  her  eyes,  however — "  if  you  would  prefer 
to  wait,  and  go  to  a  theatre  to-night " ' 

"  Oh  no,  thank  you,"  said  Bell,  quite  hurriedly — as  if  she 
were  anxious  not  to  have  her  own  wishes  consulted ;  "  I 
would  much  rather  go  on  as  far  as  we  can  to-day." 

The  Lieutenant  said  nothing — how  could  he  ?  He  was 
but  six-and-twenty,  or  thereabouts,  and  had  not  yet 
discovered  a  key  to  the  Rosamond's  maze  of  a  woman's 
wishes. 

So  we  went  to  a  restaurant  fronting  a  dull  square,  and 
dined.  "We  were  the  only  guests.  Perhaps  it  was  luncheon  ; 
perhaps  it  was  dinner — we  had  pretty  well  forgotten  the 
difference  by  this  time,  and  were  satisfied  if  we  could  get 
something  to  eat,  anywhere,  thrice  a  day. 

But  it  was  only  too  apparent  that  the  pleasant  relations 
with  which  we  had  started  had  been  seriously  altered.  There 
was  a  distressing  politeness  prevailing  throughout  this  repast, 
and  Bell  had  so  far  forgotten  her  ancient  ways  as  to  become 

Q  2 


228  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

quite  timid  and  nervously  formal  in  her  talk.  As  for  my 
Lady,  she  forgot  to  say  sharp  things.  Indeed,  she  never 
does  care  for  a  good  brisk  quarrel,  unless  there  are  people 
present  ready  to  enjoy  the  spectacle.  Fighting  for  the  mere 
sake  of  fighting  is  a  blunder ;  but  fighting  in  the  presence 
of  a  circle  of  noble  dames  and  knights  becomes  a  courtly 
tournament.  All  our  old  amusements  were  departing ;  we 
were  like  four  people  met  in  a  London  drawing-room  ;  and, 
of  course,  we  had  not  bargained  for  this  sort  of  thing  on 
setting  out.  It  had  all  arisen  from  Bell's  excessive  tender- 
ness of  heart.  She  had  possessed  herself  with  some  wild 
idea  that  she  had  cruelly  wronged  our  Lieutenant.  She 
strove  to  make  up  for  this  imaginary  injury  by  a  show  of 
courtesy  and  kindness  that  was  embarrassing  to  the  whole  of 
us.  The  fact  is,  the  girl  had  never  been  trained  in  the 
accomplishments  of  city  life.  She  regarded  a  proposal  of 
marriage  as  something  of  importance.  There  was  a  defect, 
too,  about  her  pulsation  :  her  heart — that  ought  to  have 
gone  regularly  through  the  multiplication  table  in  the  course 
of  its  beating,  and  never  changed  from  twice  one  to  twelve 
times  twelve — made  frantic  plunges  here  and  there,  and 
slurred  over  whole  columns  of  figures  in  order  to  send  an 
anxious  and  tender  flush  up  to  her  forehead  and  face.  A 
girl  who  was  so  little  mistress  of  herself  that — on  a  winter's 
evening,  when  AVC  happened  to  talk  of  the  summer-time  and 
of  half -forgotten  walks  near  Ambleside  and  Coniston — tears 
might  suddenly  be  seen  to  well  up  in  her  blue  eyes,  was 
scarcely  fit  to  take  her  place  in  a  modern  drawing-room.  At 
this  present  moment  her  anxiety,  and  a  sort  of  odd  self- 
accusation,  were  really  spoiling  our  holiday  :  but  we  did  not 
bear  our  Bell  much  malice. 

It  was  on  this  evening  that  we  were  destined  to  make  our 
first  acquaintance  with  the  alarming  method  of  making  roads 
which  prevails  between  Liverpool  and  Preston.  It  is  hard 
to  say  by  what  process  of  fiendish  ingenuity  these  petrified 
sweetbreads  have  been  placed  so  as  to  occasion  the  greatest 
possible  trouble  to  horses'  hoofs,  wheels,  and  human  ears ; 
and  it  is  just  as  hard  to  say  why  such  roads — although  they 
may  wear  long  in  the  neighbourhood  of  a  city  inviting 
constant  traffic — should  be  continued  out  into  country  dis- 
tricts where  a  cart  is  met  with  about  once  in  every  five 


OF  A  PHAETON.  229 

miles.  These  roads  do  not  conduce  to  talking.  One  thinks 
of  the  unfortunate  horses,  and  of  the  effect  on  springs  and 
wheels.  Especially  in  the  quiet  of  a  summer's  evening,  the 
frightful  rumbling  over  the  wedged-in  stones  seems  strangely 
discordant.  And  yet,  when  one  gets  clear  of  the  suburban 
slums  and  the  smoke  of  Liverpool,  a  very  respectable  ap- 
pearance of  real  country-life  becomes  visible.  When  you  get 
out  to  Walton  Nurseries  and  on  towards  Aintree  Station  and 
Maghull,  the  landscape  looks  fairly  green,  and  the  grass  is 
of  a  nature  to  support  animal  life.  There  is  nothing  very 
striking  in  the  scenery,  it  is  true.  Even  the  consciousness 
that  away  beyond  the  flats  on  the  left  the  sea  is  washing 
over  the  great  sandbanks  on  to  the  level  shores,  does  not 
help  much  ;  for  who  can  pretend  to  hear  the  whispering  of 
the  far-off  tide  amid  the  monotonous  rattling  over  these 
abominable  Lancashire  stones  ?  We  kept  our  teeth  well 
shut,  and  went  on.  We  crossed  the  small  river  of  Alt. 
We  whisked  through  Maghull  village.  The  twilight  was 
gathering  fast  as  we  got  on  to  Aughton  ;  and  in  the  dusk 
— lit  up  by  the  yellow  stars  of  the  street  lamps — we  drove 
into  Ormskirk.  The  sun  had  gone  down  red  in  the  west  : 
we  were  again  assured  as  to  the  morrow. 

But  what  would  be  the  good  of  another  bright  morning  to 
this  melancholy  Uhlan  ?  Misfortune  seemed  to  have  marked 
us  for  its  own.  We  drove  into  the  yard  of  what  was  appar- 
ently the  biggest  inn  in  the  place  ;  and  while  the  women 
were  sent  into  the  inn,  the  Lieutenant  and  I  happened  to 
remain  a  little  while  to  look  after  the  horses.  Imagine  our 
astonishment,  therefore  (after  the  animals  had  been  taken 
out  and  our  luggage  uncarted),  to  find  that  there  was  no 
accommodation  for  us  inside  the  building. 

"  Confounded  house  !  "  growled  the  Lieutenant,  in  Ger- 
man ;  "  thou  hast  betrayed  me  !  " 

So  there  was  nothing  for  it  but  to  leave  the  phaeton  where 
it  was,  and  issue  forth  in  quest  of  a  shelter  in  which  to  hide 
our  heads.  It  was  an  odd  place  when  we  found  it.  A 
group  of  women  regarded  us  with  a  frightened  stare.  In 
vain  we  invited  them  to  speak.  At  length  another  woman 
— little  less  alarmed  than  the  others,  apparently — made  her 
appearance,  and  signified  that  we  might,  if  we  chose,  go  into 
a  small  parlour  smelling  consumedly  of  gin  and  coarse 


230  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

tobacco.  After  all,  we  found  the  place  was  not  so  bad  as  it 
looked.  Another  chamber  was  prepared  for  us.  Our  luggage 
was  brought  round.  Ham  and  beer  were  provided  for  our 
final  meal,  with  some  tea  in  a  shaky  teapot.  There  was 
nothing  romantic  in  this  dingy  hostelry,  or  in  this  dingy 
little  town  ;  but  were  we  not  about  to  reach  a  more  favoured 
country — the  beautiful  and  enchanted  land  of  which  Bell 
had  been  dreaming  so  long  ? — 

"Kennst  du  es  wohl?   Daliin,  dahin, 
Mocht'  ich  mit  dir,  O  mem  Geliebter,  ziehn!" 

[Note  "by  Queen  Titania. — "  I  confess  that  I  cannot  understand  these 
young  people.  On  our  way  from  the  Fairy  Glen  back  to  Bettws-y- 
Coed,  Bell  told  me  something  of  what  had  occurred;  but  I  really 
could  not  get  from  her  any  proper  reason  for  her  having  acted  so. 
She  was  much  distressed,  of  course.  I  forbore  to  press  her,  lest  we 
should  have  a  scene,  and  I  would  not  hurt  the  girl's  feelings  for  the 
world,  for  she  is  as  dear  to  me  as  one  of  my  own  children.  But  she 
could  give  no  explanation.  If  she  had  said  that  Count  von  Kosen  had 
been  too  precipitate,  I  could  have  understood  it.  She  said  she  had 
known  him  a  very  short  time;  and  that  she  could  not  judge  of  a 
proposition  coming  so  unexpectedly ;  and  that  she  could  not  consent 
to  his  leaving  his  country  and  his  profession  for  her  sake.  These  are 
only  such  objections  as  every  girl  uses  when  she  really  means  that  she 
does  not  wish  to  marry.  I  asked  her  why.  She  had  no  objections  to 
urge  against  Lieutenant  von  Kosen  personally — as  how  could  she  ? — 
for  he  is  a  most  gentlemanly  young  man,  with  abilities  and  accomplish- 
ments considerably  above  the  average.  Perhaps,  living  down  in  the 
country  for  the  greater  part  of  the  year,  I  am  not  competent  to  judge  ; 
but  I  think  at  least  he  compares  very  favourably  with  the  gentlemen 
whom  I  am  in  the  habit  of  meeting.  I  asked  her  if  she  meant  to  marry 
Arthur.  She  would  not  answer.  She  said  something  about  his  being 
an  old  friend — as  if  that  had  anything  in  the  world  to  do  with  it.  At 
first  I  thought  that  she  had  merely  said  No  for  the  pleasure  of 
accepting  afterwards ;  and  I  knew  that  in  that  case  the  Lieutenant, 
who  is  a  shrewd  young  man,  and  has  plenty  of  courage,  would  soon 
make  another  trial.  But  I  was  amazed  to  find  so  much  of  seriousness 
in  her  decision ;  and  yet  she  will  not  say  that  she  means  to  marry 
Arthur.  Perhaps  she  is  waiting  to  have  an  explanation  with  him  first. 
In  that  case,  I  fear  Count  von  Rosen's  chances  are  but  very  small 
indeed ;  for  I  know  how  Arthur  has  wantonly  traded  on  Bell's  great 
generosity  before.  Perhaps  I  may  be  mistaken;  but  she  would  not 
admit  that  her  decision  could  be  altered.  I  must  say  it  is  most 
unfortunate.  Just  as  we  were  getting  on  so  nicely,  and  enjoying  our 
drive  so  much — and  just  as  we  were  getting  near  to  the  Lake  country 
that  Bell  so  much  delights  in — everything  is  spoiled  by  this  unhappy 
event,  for  which  Bell  can  give  no  adequate  reason  whatever.  It  is  a 


OF  A  PHAETON.  231 

great  pity  that  one  who  shall  be  nameless — but  who  looks  pretty  fairly 
after  his  own  comfort — did  not  absolutely  forbid  Arthur  to  come  vexing 
us  in  this  way.  If  Dr.  Ashburton  had  had  any  proper  control  over  the 
boy,  he  would  have  kept  him  to  his  studies  in  the  Temple,  instead  of 
allowing  him  to  risk  the  breaking  of  his  neck  by  driving  wildly  about 
the  country  in  a  dog-cart."] 


CHAPTER  XIX, 

THE   WHITE  OWLS  OF  GARSTANG. 

"As  she  fled  fast  through  sun  and  shade, 
The  happy  winds  upon  her  played, 
Blowing  the  ringlet  from  the  braid: 
She  looked  so  lovely,  as  she  swayed 

The  rein  with  dainty  finger-tips, 
A  man  had  given  all  other  bliss, 
And  all  his  worldly  wealth  for  this, 
To  waste  his  whole  heart  in  one  kiss 

Upon  her  perfect  lips." 

THIS  state  of  affairs  could  not  last. 

"  Look  here,"  I  say  to  Queen  Titania,  "  we  must  cut  the 
Lieutenant  adrift." 

"  As  you  please,"  she  remarks,  with  a  sudden  coldness 
coming  over  her  manner. 

"  Why  should  we  be  embarrassed  by  the  freaks  of  these 
two  young  people  ?  All  the  sunshine  has  gone  out  of 
the  party  since  Bell  has  begun  to  sit  mute  and  constrained 
— her  only  wish  apparently  being  to  show  a  superhuman 
courtesy  to  this  perplexing  young  Prussian." 

"  You  very  quickly  throw  over  anyone  who  interferes  with 
your  own  comfort,"  says  my  Lady,  calmly. 

"  I  miss  my  morning  ballad.  When  one  reaches  a  certain 
age,  one  expects  to  be  studied  and  tended — except  by  one's 
wife." 

"  Well,"  says  Tita,  driven  to  desperation  by  this  picture 
of  von  Rosen's  departure,  "  I  warned  you  at  our  setting-out 
that  these  two  would  fall  in  love  with  each  other  and  cause 
us  a  great  deal  of  trouble." 

Who  can  say  that  this  little  woman  is  wanting  in  courage  ? 
The  audacity  with  which  she  made  this  statement  was 
marvellous.  She  never  flinched  ;  and  the  brown,  clear,  true 


232  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

eyes  looked  as  bravely  unconscious  as  if  she  had  been 
announcing  her  faith  in  the  multiplication  table.  There  was 
no  use  in  arguing  the  point.  How  could  you  seek  to  thwart 
or  influence  the  firm  belief  that  shone  clearly  and  steadily 
under  the  soft  eyelashes  ? 

"  Come,"  I  say  to  her,  "  is  von  Eosen  to  go  ;  or  is  he  to 
hang  on  in  hope  of  altering  Bell's  decision  ?  I  fancy  the 
young  man  would  himself  prefer  to  leave  us — I  don't  think 
he  is  in  a  comfortable  position." 

My  Lady  appeared  a  trifle  embarrassed — was  there  some 
dark  secret  between  these  two  women  ? 

"  A  young  man,"  she  says,  with  a  little  hesitation,  "  is  the 
best  judge  of  his  own  chances.  I  have  asked  Bell ;  and  I 
really  can't  quite  make  her  out.  Still — you  know — a  girl 
sometimes  is  in  a  manner  frightened  into  saying  '  No,'  the 
first  time  she  is  asked — and  there  might  be — 
She  stopped. 

"  You  think  the  Lieutenant  should  ask  her  again  ?  " 
"  No,  /  don't,"  says  Tita,  hastily  ;  "  but  it  is  impossible 
to  say — she  had  nothing  to  urge  against  Count  von  Eosen 
— only  that    Arthur    would    consider    himself    unjustly 
treated— 

"  So— ho  !     Is  that  the  reason  ?  " 

"  No,  no,  no  ! "  cries  the  small  woman,  in  an  agony  of 
fright.  "  Don't  you  go  and  put  any  wrong  notions  into  the 

young  man's  head " 

"  Madam,"  I  say  to  her,  "  recollect  yourself.  So  far  from 
wishing  to  interfere  in  the  affairs  of  these  two  young  folks, 
I  should  like  to  bundle  them  both  back  to  London,  that  we 
might  continue  our  journey  in  peace.  As  for  the  Lieuten- 
ant's again  proposing  to  marry  Bell,  I  consider  that  a  man 
who  twice  asks  a  woman  to  become  his  wife,  forgets  the 
dignity  of  his  sex." 

Tita  looks  up — with  the  most  beautifully  innocent  smile 
in  her  eyes — and  says  sweetly — • 
"  You  did  yourself." 
"  That  was  different." 
"  Yes,  I  daresay." 

"  I  knew  your  heart  would  have  broken  if  I  hadn't." 
"  Oh  !  "  she  says,  with  her  eyes  grown  appalled. 
"  In  fact,  it  was  my  native  generosity  that  prompted  me 


OF  A  PHAETON.  233 

to  ask  you  a  second  time ;  for  I  perceived  that  you  were 
about  to  ask  me." 

"  How  many  more  ?  "  she  asks  ;  but  I  cannot  make  out 
what  mysterious  things  she  is  secretly  counting  up. 

"  No  matter.  There  is  little  use  in  recalling  these  bygone 
mistakes.  Justice  is  satisfied  when  a  fool  repents  him  of 
his  folly." 

At  this  moment  Bell  enters  the  room.  She  goes  up  to 
Tita,  and  takes  both  her  hands. 

"  You  are  laughing,  in  a  perplexed  way.  You  must  have 
been  quarrelling.  What  shall  we  do  to  him  ?  " 

"  The  falling  out  of  faithful  friends  is  generally  made  up 
with  a  kiss,  Bell,"  it  is  remarked. 

"  But  I  am  not  in  the  quarrel,"  says  Miss  Bell,  retreat- 
ing to  the  window ;  and  here  there  is  a  rumble  of  wheels 
outside,  and  the  phaeton  stands  at  the  door. 

"  You  two  must  get  up  in  front,"  says  Tita,  as  we  go  out 
into  the  white  glare  of  Ormskirk.  "  I  can  watch  you 
better  there." 

By  this  dexterous  manoeuvre  Bell  and  the  Lieutenant 
were  again  separated.  The  young  lady  was  never  loth  to 
sit  in  front — under  whatever  surveillance  it  placed  her  ;  for 
she  liked  driving.  On  this  cool  morning — that  promised  a 
warmer  day,  after  the  wind  had  carried  away  the  white 
fleece  of  cloud  that  stretched  across  the  sky — she  pulled  on 
her  gloves  with  great  alacrity  ;  and,  having  got  into  her  seat, 
assumed  the  management  of  the  reins  as  a  matter  of  course. 

"  Gently !  "  I  say  to  her,  as  Castor  and  Pollux  make  a 
plunge  forward  into  the  narrow  thoroughfare.  A  hand- 
barrow  is  jutting  out  from  the  pavement.  She  gives  a 
jerk  to  the  left  rein,  but  it  is  too  late  ;  one  of  our  wheels 
just  touches  the  end  of  the  barrow,  and  over  it  goes — not 
with  any  great  crash,  however. 

"  Go  on,"  says  the  Lieutenant,  from  behind,  with  ad- 
mirable coolness.  "  There  is  no  harm  done — and  there  is 
no  one  in  charge  of  that  thing.  When  he  comes,  he  will 
pick  it  up." 

"  Very  pretty  conduct,"  remarks  my  Lady,  as  we  get  out 
among  the  green  fields  and  meadows  again,  "  injuring  some 
poor  man's  property,  and  quietly  driving  away  without  even 
offering  compensation," 


234  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

"It  was  Bell  who  did  it,"  I  say. 

"As  usual.  The  old  story  repeated  from  the  days  of 
Eden  downward.  The  woman  thou  gavest  me — of  course, 
it  is  she  who  must  bear  the  blame." 

"Madam,"  I  reply,  "your  knowledge  of  Scripture  is 
astounding.  Who  was  the  first  Attorney-General  in  the 
Bible  ?  " 

"  Find  out,"  says  Tita  ;  and  the  Lieutenant  bursts  into 
a  roar  of  laughter,  as  if  that  were  a  pretty  repartee. 

"  And  where  do  we  stop  to-night  ?  "  says  our  North- 
country  Maid,  looking  away  along  the  green  valley  which 
is  watered  by  the  pretty  Eller  Brook. 

"  Garstang,  on  the  river  of  Wyre." 

"  And  to-morrow  we  shall  really  be  in  "Westmoreland  ?  " 

"  To-morrow  we  shall  really  be  in  Westmoreland.  Wo- 
ho  !  my  beauties !  Why,  Bell,  if  you  try  to  leap  across 
Lancashire  at  a  bound  like  that,  you'll  have  us  in  a  canal, 
or  transfixed  on  a  telegraph-post." 

"  I  did  not  intend  it,"  says  Bell,  "  but  they  are  as  anxious 
as  I  am  to  get  north,  and  they  break  into  a  gallop  on  no 
provocation  whatever." 

Indeed,  the  whole  nature  of  this  mad  girl  seemed  to  have 
a  sort  of  resemblance  to  a  magnetic  needle — it  was  continu- 
ously turning  to  the  North  Pole,  and  that  in  a  tremulous, 
undecided  fashion,  as  if,  with  all  her  longing,  she  did  not 
quite  like  to  let  people  know.  But  at  this  moment  she 
forgot  that  we  were  listening.  It  was  really  herself 
she  was  delighting  with  her  talk  about  deep  valleys,  and 
brown  streams,  and  the  scent  of  peat-smoke  in  the  air  of  an 
evening.  All  the  time  she  was  looking  away  up  to  the 
horizon  to  see  whether  she  could  not  make  out  some  lines  of 
blue  mountains,  until  Tita  suddenly  said — 

"  My  dear  !  " 

"  Meaning  me,  mafam  ?  " 

"No,  I  mean  Bell.  Pray  keep  a  firmer  hand  on  the 
horses  :  if  a  train  were  to  come  sharply  by  at  present — and 
you  see  the  road  runs  parallel  with  the  railway-line  for  an 
immense  distance " 

"  And  so  should  we,"  says  Bell  lightly.  "  There  is  no 
danger.  The  poor  animals  wouldn't  do  anything  wicked  at 
such  a  time,  just  when  they  are  getting  near  to  a  long  rest." 


OF  A  PHAETON.  235 

Under  Bell's  guidance  we  do  not  lose  much  time.  And 
presently  the  road  leaves  the  neighbourhood  of  the  railway. 
We  drive  past  the  great  park  of  Rufford  Hall.  The  wind 
blows  across  to  us  from  the  Irish  Sea  ;  and  at  the  small 
village  of  Much  Hoole,  where  the  Lieutenant  insists  on 
giving  the  horses  a  little  meal  and  water  as  a  sort  of 
soothing  draught,  we  come  in  sight  of  the  long  red  line  of  the 
Kibble,  widening  out  into  a  sandy  channel  as  it  nears  the 
ocean.  Bell  catches  a  glimpse  of  the  smoke  of  a  steamer  ; 
and  the  vague  knowledge  that  the  plain  of  salt  water  is  not 
far  away  seems  to  refresh  us  all,  as  we  plunge  once  more 
into  the  green  and  wooded  country,  by  Longton,  Hutton, 
and  Howick. 

"  What  is  the  greatest  wish  of  your  life,  Bell  ?  "  I  ask, 
knowing  that  she  is  dreaming  of  living  somewhere  along 
the  coast  of  these  islands. 

"  To  see  Mamma  pleased,"  says  Bell,  quite  prettily,  just 
as  if  she  were  before  a  schoolmistress. 

"You  ask  for  the  impossible.  Tita's  dream  of  earthly 
bliss  is  to  have  the  cross  in  our  little  church  turned  to  a 
crucifix  ;  and  it  will  never  be  realized.  I  think  she  would 
rather  have  that  than  be  made  a  Duchess." 

"  I  do  miss  that  dear  little  church,"  says  Tita,  taking  no 
heed  of  the  charge  preferred  against  her.  "  There  is  no 
feeling  of  homeliness  about  the  churches  we  go  into  up 
here.  You  know  that  you  are  a  stranger,  and  all  the 
people  are  strangers,  and  you  are  not  accustomed  to  the 
clergyman's  voice." 

"The  fact  is,"  I  tell  her,  "you  lose  the  sense  of 
proprietorship  which  pleases  you  at  home.  There,  the 
church  is  your  own.  You  set  out  on  a  quiet  Sunday 
morning  ;  you  know  all  the  people  coming  through  the 
fields  and  along  the  roads  ;  and  you  jiave  an  eye  on  them, 
to  mark  the  absentees.  There  is  a  family  gathering  in  the 
churchyard,  and  a  universal  shaking  of  hands  ;  you  are 
pleased  that  all  the  people  are  coming  to  your  church. 
You  go  in  ;  the  evergreens  everywhere  about  you  put  there 
yourself.  The  tall  white  lilies  on  the  altar  you  presented 
to  the  Vicar  ;  though  I  paid  for  them.  Bell  sits  down  to 
the  organ — probably  thinking  that  her  new  boots  may  slip 
on  one  of  the  pedals  and  produce  a  discord  in  the  bass  ;  and 


236  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

you  know  that  your  family  is  providing  the  music  too. 
The  Yicar  and  his  wife  dined  with  you  the  night  before  : 
you  are  in  secret  league  with  them.  You  know  all  the 
people  ;  Lord 's  butler,  who  is  the  most  venerable  per- 
son in  the  place  ;  that  squint-eyed  publican,  who  thrashes 
his  wife  on  the  Saturday  so  that  she  can't  come  on  the 
Sunday ;  all  the  other  various  pensioners  you  have,  who 
you  vainly  think  are  being  taught  to  be  independent  and 
economical ;  a  lot  of  small  boys  in  knickerbockers  and 
shiny  heads  of  hair,  and  pretty  young  ladies  with  sailors' 
hats,  blue  ribbons,  white  jackets,  and  big  wistful  eyes. 
You  are  the  presiding  genius  of  the  place  ;  and  when  Bell 
begins  the  music — and  the  sunlight  comes  through  the  small 
and  yellow  windows  in  the  southern  aisle — and  when  you 
see  the  light  shining  on  the  mural  tablets,  with  the  coloured 
coats-of-arms  above — you  ask  yourself  what  other  place 
could  produce  this  feeling  of  homely  satisfaction,  and  what 
fashionable  London  church,  with  all  its  money,  could 
manufacture  these  ancient  blocks  of  marble — until  you 
think  you  could  spend  all  your  own  money,  and  all  your 
husband's  too,  in  making  the  small"  building  a  sort  of 
ecclesiastical  museum." 

"  I  hope,"  says  Tita,  with  great  severity,  "  I  do  not  go 
into  church  with  any  such  thoughts.  It  is  an  auctioneer's 
view  of  a  morning  service." 

"It  is  the  business  of  an  auctioneer,  my  dear  creature, 
to  estimate  the  actual  value  of  articles.  But  I  forgot  one 
thing.  After  you  have  contemplated  the  church  with  pro- 
found satisfaction — just  as  if  those  old  knights  and  baronets 
had  died  in  order  to  adorn  the  walls  for  you — your  eye 
wanders  up  to  the  altar.  It  is  a  pretty  altar-cloth — good- 
ness knows  how  much  time  you  and  Bell  spent  over  it. 
The  flowers  on  the  altar  are  also  beautiful — or  ought  to  be, 
considering  the  price  that  Benson  charges  for  them.  But 
that  plain  gilt  cross,  with  the  three  jewels  in  it — that  is 
rather  a  blot,  is  it  not  ?  " 

"  Why  don't  you  go  to  the  zinc  chapel  ?  "  says  Tita,  with 
some  contempt. 

"  I  would  if  I  dared." 

"  Who  prevents  you  ?  I  am  sure  it  is  not  I.  I  would 
much  rather  you  went  there,  than  come  to  church,  merely 


OF  A  PHAETON.  237 

to  calculate  the  cost  of  every  bit  of  fern  or  yew  that  is 
placed  on  the  walls,  and  to  complain  of  the  introduction 
into  the  sermon  of  doctrines  which  you  can't  understand." 

"  May  I  go  to  chapel,  please  ?  " 

"  Certainly.  But  you  are  a  good  deal  fonder  of  going  up 
to  Mickleham  Downs  than  to  either  church  or  chapel." 

"  Will  you  come  to  chapel,  Bell  ?  " 

"  I  am  not  going  to  interfere,"  says  Bell,  with  philo- 
sophical indifference,  and  paying  much  more  attention  to 
her  horses. 

"  I  should  be  sorry  to  go,"  I  observe,  calmly,  "  for  I  had 
half  resolved  to  ask  Mr.  Lestrange  to  let  me  put  in  yellow 
glass  in  those  two  windows  that  are  at  present  white." 

"  Oh,  will  you  really  ?  "  cries  Queen  Tita,  in  a  piteously 
eager  tone,  and  quite  forgetting  all  her  war  of  words. 

Well,  I  promise,  somewhat  sadly.  It  is  not  the  cost  of 
it  that  is  the  matter.  But  on  those  Sunday  mornings 
when  the  sunlight  is  flooding  the  church  with  a  solemn 
glow,  it  is  something  to  turn  to  the  two  white  windows, 
and  there,  through  the  diamond  panes,  you  can  see  the 
sunlight  shimmering  on  the  breezy  branches  of  an  ash-tree. 
This  little  glimpse  of  the  bright  and  glowing  world  out- 
side— when  our  Vicar,  who,  it  must  be  confessed,  is  not 
always  in  a  happy  mood,  happens  to  be  rather  drowsy  and 
even  depressing  in  the  monotony  of  his  cominonplaceness 
—but  perhaps  it  will  be  better  to  say  nothing  more  on  this 
point. 

Why  the  people  of  the  flourishing  town  of  Preston  do  not 
bridge  the  Kibble  in  a  line  running  parallel  with  their  chief 
thoroughfare  and  the  road  leading  up  from  Harwich,  is 
inexplicable.  A  pleasure  party  need  not  mind,'  for  the 
drive  is'  cheerful  enough ;  but  business .  folks  might  be 
tempted  to  use  bad  .  language  over .  such  an  unnecessary 
injury.  The  road  makes  a  long  double  along  the  two  banks 
of  the  river,  the  most  westerly  bridge  forming  the  end  of 
the  loop.  First  you  drive  down  the  left  bank  of  the  stream, 
over  [fine 'green  meadows,  then ;  you  cross  the  bridge,  and 
drive  back  along  the  right  bank,  between  avenues  of  young 
trees.  Perhaps  the  notion  is  to  give  you^as  much  as  possible 
of  the  green  and  pleasant  surroundings  of  Preston,  before 
letting  you  plunge  into  the  streets  of  the  town. 


238  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

Now,  I  do  not  know  how  it.  was  that  from  the  moment  of 
our  entering  Preston  a  vague  feeling  of  satisfaction  and 
hope  seemed  to  get  possession  of  our  small  party.  We  had 
started  in  the  morning  under  somewhat  embarrassing  and 
awkward  conditions,  not  likely  to  provoke  high  spirits  ;  but 
now  we  seemed  to  have  a  nebulous  impression  that  the  end 
of  our  troubles  had  come.  Was  it  because  we  had  reached 
the  last  of  the  large  manufacturing  towns  on  our  journey, 
and  that  we  should  meet  with  no  more  of  them  ?  Or  was 
it  because  of  that  promise  of  Queen  Titania  ? — for  the 
kindly  little  woman,  when  she  is  pleased,  has  a  wonderful 
power  of  conveying  her  gladness  to  others,  and  has  been 
known  to  sweeten  a  heavy  dinner-party  as  a  bunch  of  wood- 
ruff will  sweeten  a  lumber-room.  Or  was  it  that  we  knew, 
in  approaching  Kendal,  we  should  probably  come  to  a  final 
settlement  of  all  our  difficulties,  and  have  thereafter  peace  ? 

As  we  were  walking,  after  luncheon,  through  the  spacious 
public  gardens  that  overlook  the  Kibble,  the  Lieutenant  drew 
me  aside,  and  said — • 

"  My  good  friend,  here  is  a  favour  I  will  ask  of  you.  We 
come  to-night  to  Garstang,  yes  ?  " 

"  Yes,  we  shall  reach  Garstang  to-night." 

"  A  town  or  a  village  ? " 

"  I  don't  know.     Probably  a  village." 

"  I  did  hope  it  was  not  a  town.  Well,  this  is  what  I  ask. 
You  will  endeavour  to  take  away  Madame  for  a  few  mo- 
ments— if  we  are  out  walking,  you  know — and  you  will  let 
me  say  a  few  words  to  Mademoiselle  by  herself." 

"  I  thought  all  your  anxiety  was  to  avoid  her." 

"  There  is  something  I  must  say  to  her." 

"  All  right ;  I  will  do  what  you  ask,  on  condition  you  do 
not  persecute  her.  When  she  wishes  to  rejoin  us,  you  must 
not  prevent  her." 

"  Persecute  her  ?  Then  you  do  think  I  will  quarrel  with 
her — and  make  her  very  miserable — merely  because  she  will 
not  marry  me  ?  You  think  it  will  be  as  it  was  at  Worcester 
— when  that  stupid  boy  from  Twickenham  did  go  along  the 
river  ?  Well,  all  I  ask  you  is  to  look  -at  these  two  days. 
Has  there  been  any  quarrel  between  us  ?  No,  it  is  quite 
the  opposite." 

"Then  let  it  remain  that  way,  my  dear  fellow.     One 


OF  A  PHAETON.  239 

Arthur  is  bad  enough  for  a  girl  to  manage  ;  but  two  would 
probably  send  her  into  a  convent  for  life?" 

And  the  truth  was  as  the  Lieutenant  had  described  it. 
They  had  been  during  these  two  days  more  than  polite  to 
each  other.  Somehow,  Bell  was  never  done  in  paying  him 
furtive  little  attentions,  although  she  spoke  to  him  rarely. 
That  morning  she  had  somewhere  got  a  few  wild-flowers  ; 
and  three  tiny  bouquets  were  placed  on  the  breakfast-table. 
The  Lieutenant  dared  not  think  that  one  of  them  was  for 
him.  He  apologized  to  Mademoiselle  for  taking  her  seat. 
Bell  said  he  had  not — the  bouquet  was  for  him  if  he  cared  to 
have  it,  she  added  with  a  little  diffidence.  The  Lieutenant 
positively  blushed — said  nothing — and  altogether  neglected 
his  own  breakfast  in  offering  her  things  she  did  not  want. 
The  bouquets  given  to  Tita  and  her  husband  were  pinned 
into  prominent  positions  ;  but  no  human  eye  saw  anything 
more  of  the  wild  blossoms  that  Bell  had  given  to  von  Rosen. 
Betting  on  a  certainty  is  considered  dishonourable  ;  and  so 
I  will  not  say  what  odds  I  would  give  that  these  precious 
flowers  were  transferred  to  a  book,  and  that  at  this  moment 
they  could  be  produced  if  a  certain  young  man  were  only 
willing  to  reveal  their  whereabouts. 

Everything  seemed  to  favour  us  on  this  fine  afternoon  as 
we  drove  away  northward  again.  The  road  grew  excellent ; 
and  we  knew  that  we  had  finally  left  behind  us  that  deafen- 
ing causeway  that  had  dinned  our  ears  for  days  past.  Then 
the  cool  breeze  of  the  morning  and  mid-day;had  died  down  ; 
and  a  still,  warm  sunset  began  to  break  over  the  western 
country,  between  us  and  the  sea.  We  could  not,  of  course, 
get  any  glimpse  of  the  great  plain  of  water  beyond  the  land  ; 
but  we  knew  that  this  great  fire  of  crimson  and  yellow  was 
shining  down  on  it  too,  and  on  the  long  curves  of  the 
coast. 

The  western  sands  could  not  be  much  more  level  than  the 
road  that  runs  up  by  Broughton  and  Brockbridge,  but  it 
takes  one  through  a  sufficiently  pleasant  country,  which  is 
watered  by  a  multitude  of  brooks  and  small  rivers.  It  is  a 
rich  and  well-cultivated  country,  too  ;  and  the  far-stretching 
meadows  and  copses  and  fields  seemed  to  grow  darker  in 
their  green  under  that  smoke  of  dusky  crimson  that  had 
filled  the  sky.  It  is  true,  we  were  yet  in  Lancashire  ;  and 


240  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

there  was  still  present  to  us  a  double  line  of  communication 
with  the  manufacturing  towns  we  had  now  left  behind.  At 
certain  places  the  road  would  run  by  the  side  of  a  railway- 
line  ;  and  then  again  we  would  find  a  canal  winding  itself 
like  a  snake  through  the  grassy  meadows.  But  a  sunset  is 
a  wonderful  smoother-down  of  these  artificial  features  in  a 
landscape  ;  and  when  the  earth-banks  of  the  railway -line 
burned  crimson  under  the  darkening  sky,  or  when  an  arm  of 
the  canal  caught  a  flush  of  flame  on  its  glassy  surface,  the 
picture  was  rather  helped  than  otherwise,  and  we  bore  the 
engineers  of  this  favoured  land  no  deadly  grudge.  • 

A  sunset,  by  the  way,  was  always  favourable  to  Bell's 
appearance.  It  lent  to  those  fine  and  wavy  masses  of  hair  a 
sort  of  glory  ;  and  the  splendid  aureole  was  about  all  of  his 
sweetheart  that  the  Lieutenant  could  see,  as  he  sat  in  the 
hind  seat  of  the  phaeton.  Bell  wears  her  hair  rather  loose 
when  she  is  out  in  the  country,  and  greatly  likes,  indeed,  to 
toss  it  about  as  if  she  were  a  young  lion  ;  so  that-  you  may 
fancy  how  the  warm  light  of  the  sunset  glowed  here  and 
there  on  those  light  and  silken  heaps  of  golden-brown"  as  we 
drove  along  in  the  quiet  evening.  Sometimes,  indeed,  he 
may  have  caught  the  outline  of  her  face  as  she  turned  to 
look  over  the  far  landscape  ;  and  then,  I  know,  the  delicate 
oval  was  tinted  by  the  generous  colour  of  the  western  skies, 
so  that  not  alone  in  the  miracle  of  her  hair  did  she  look  like 
some  transfigured  saint. 

Her  talk  on  this  evening,  however,  was  far  from  saintly. 
It  was  as  worldly  as  it  well  could  be  ;  for  she  was  confessing 
to  the  agony  she  used  to  suffer  after  going  home  from 
dinner-parties,  balls,  and  other  godless  diversions  of  a  like 
nature.  • 

"  I  used  to  dread  going  up  to  my  room,"  she  said,  "  for  I 
could  get  no  rest  until  I  had  sat  down  and  gone  over 
everything  that  I  had  said  during  the  evening.  And  then 
all  the  consequences  of  my  imprudence  came  rushing  down 
on  me  until  I  felt  I  was  scarcely  fit  to  live.  What  you  had 
been  led  into  saying  as  a  mere  piece  of  merriment  now 
looked  terribly  like  impertinence.  Many  a  time  I  wrote 
down  on  a  piece  of  paper  certain  things  that  I  resolved  to 
go  the  next  day  and  make  an  apology  for  to  the  old  ladies 
whom  I  am  sure  I  had  offended.  But  the  next  morning. 


OF  A  PHAETON.  241 

things  began  to  look  a  little  better.  A  little  reassurance 
came  with,  the  general  briskness  ;  and  I  used  to  convince 
myself  that  nobody  would  remember  the  heedless  sayings 
that  had  been  provoked  by  the  light  talk  and  merriment. 
I  absolved  myself  for  that  day  ;  and  promised,  and  vowed, 
and  made  the  most  desperate  resolutions  never,  never  to  be 
thoughtless  in  the  future,  but  always  to  watch  every  word 
I  had  to  utter." 

"  And  in  the  evening,"  continued  my  Lady,  "  you  went 
out  to  another  dance,  and  enjoyed  yourself  the  same,  and 
said  as  many  wild  things  as  usual,  and  went  home  again 
to  do  penance.  It  is  quite  natural,  Bell.  Most  girls  go 
through  that  terrible  half -hour  of  reaction,  until  they  grow 
to  be  women " 

"  And  then,"  it  is  remarked,  "  they  have  never  anything 
to  be  sorry  about ;  for  they  are  always  circumspect,  self- 
possessed,  and  sure  about  what  they  mean.  They  never 
have  to  spend  a  dreadful  half-hour  in  trying  to  recollect 
mistakes  and  follies." 

"  As  for  gentlemen,"  observed  Titania  sweetly,  "  I  have 
heard  that  their  evil  half-hour  is  during  the  process  of 
dressing,  when  they  endeavour  to  recall  the  speech  they 
made  at  the  public  dinner  of  the  night  before,  and  wonder 
how  they  could  have  been  so  stupid  as  to  order  a  lot  of 
champagne  to  oblige  a  friend  just  gone  into  that  business, 
and  are  not  very  sure  how  many  people  they  invited  to  dinner 
on  the  following  Friday.  Count  von  Eosen " 

"  Yes,  Madame." 

"  When  you  observe  a  husband  whistling  while  his  wife 
is  talking,  what  do  you  think  ?  " 

"  That  she  is  saying  something  he  would  rather  not  hear," 
replies  the  Lieutenant,  gravely. 

"And  is  not  that  a  confession  that  what  she  says  is 
true  ?  " 

"  Yes,  Madame,"  says  the  Lieutenant,  boldly. 

"  My  dear,"  I  say  to  her,  "  your  brain  has  been  turned  by 
the  last  sporting  novel  you  have  read.  You  are  a  victim  of 
cerebral  inflammation.  When  you  pride  yourself  on  your 
researches  into  the  ways  and  habits  of  the  sex  which  you 
affect  to  despise,  don't  take  that  sort  of  farthing-candle  to 
guide  you.  As  for  myself,  our  young  friend  from  Prussia 

R 


242  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

would  scarcely  credit  the  time  I  spend  in  helping  you  to  nail 
up  brackens  and  larch  and  ivy  in  that  wretched  little  church  ; 
and  if  he  knew  the  trouble  I  have  to  keep  Bell's  accounts 
straight — when  she  is  reckoning  up  what  the  process  of 
producing  paupers  in  our  neighbourhood  costs  us — why,  he 
would  look  upon  you  as  an  unprincipled  calumniator." 

"  Mamma  herself  is  scarcely  so  big  as  those  two  words  put 
together,"  says  Bell ;  but  Mamma  is  laughing  all  this  time, 
quite  pleased  to  see  that  she  has  raised  a  storm  in  a  tea-cup 
by  her  ungracious  and  unwarranted  assault. 

In  the  last  red  rays  of  the  sun  we  have  got  on  to  a  small 
elevation.  Before  us,  the  road  dips  down  and  crosses  the 
canal  ;  then  it  makes  a  twist  again  and  crosses  the  Wyre  ; 
and  up  in  that  corner  are  the  scattered  gables  of  Garstang. 
As  we  pass  over  the  river,  it  is  running  cold  and  dark 
between  its  green  banks  ;  and  the  sunset  is  finally  drawing 
down  to  the  west  as  we  drive  into  the  silent  village,  and  up 
to  the  doorstep  of  the  Eoyal  Oak. 

'Tis  a  quaint  and  ancient  hostelry.  For  aught  we  know, 
the  Earl  of  Derby's  soldiers  may  have  walked  over  hither  for 
a  draught  of  beer  when  they  were  garrisoning  Greenhalgh 
Castle  out  there  ;  and  when  the  brave  Countess,  away  down 
at  Latham,  was  herself  fixing  up  the  royal  standard  on  the 
tower  of  the  castle — as  Mr.  Leslie's  picture  shows  us — and 
bidding  defiance  to  the  Parliamentary  troops.  When  you 
tell  that  story  to  Queen  Titania,  you  can  see  her  gentle  face 
grow  pale  with  pride  and  admiration  ;  for  did  not  the 
gallant  Countess  send  out  word  to  Fairfax  that  she  would 
defend  the  place  until  she  lost  her  honour  or  her  life,  seeing 
she  had  not  forgotten  what  she  owed  to  the  Church  of 
England,  to  her  prince,  and  to  her  lord  ?  My  Lady  looks 
as  if  she,  too,  could  have  sent  that  message  ;  only  that  she 
would  have  stopped  at  the  Church  of  England  and  gone  no 
further. 

When  we  come  out  again,  the  sunset  has  gone  ;  and  a 
wonderful  pale  green  twilight  lies  over  the  land.  We  go 
forth  from  the  old-fashioned  streets  ;  and  find  ourselves  by 
the  banks  of  the  clear  running  river.  A  wan  metallic  light 
shines  along  its  surface  ;  and  as  we  walk  along  between  the 
meadows  and  the  picturesque  banks — where  there  is  an 
abundance  of  the  mighty  burdock-leaves  that  are  beloved  of 


OF  A  PHAETON.  243 

artists — an  occasional  splash  is  heard,  whether  of  a  rat 
or  a  trout  no  one  can  say.  Somehow  the  Lieutenant  has 
drawn  Bell  away  from  us.  In  the  clear  twilight  we  can  see 
their  figures  sharp  and  black  on  the  dark  green  slope  beside 
the  stream.  Queen  Tita  looks  rather  wistfully  at  them ; 
and  is,  perhaps,  thinking  of  days  long  gone  by  when  she, 
too,  knew  the  value  of  silence  on  a  beautiful  evening,  by 
the  side  of  a  river. 

"  I  hope  it  is  not  wrong,"  says  my  Lady,  in  a  low  voice, 
"  but  I  confess  I  should  like  to  see  the  Lieutenant  marry 
our  Bell." 

"  Wrong  ?  No.  It  is  only  the  absent  who  are  in  the 
wrong — Arthur,  for  example,  who  is  perhaps  at  Kendal,  at 
this  moment,  waiting  for  us." 

"  We  cannot  all  be  satisfied  in  this  world,"  remarks  Tita, 
profoundly ;  "  and  as  one  of  these  two  alone  can  marry 
Bell,  I  do  hope  it  may  be  the  Lieutenant,  in  spite  of  what 
she  says.  I  think  it  would  be  very  pleasant  for  all  of  us. 
What  nice  neighbours  they  would  be  for  us ;  for  I  know 
Bell  would  prefer  to  live  down  near  us  in  Surrey,  and  the 
Lieutenant  can  have  no  particular  preference  for  any  place 
in  England." 

"  A  nice  holiday -time  we  should  have  of  it,  with  these 
two  idle  creatures  living  close  by  and  making  continual 
proposals  to  go  away  somewhere." 

"  Bell  would  not  be  idle." 

"  She  must  give  up  her  painting  if  she  marries." 

"  She  won't  give  it  up  altogether,  I  hope  ;  and  then 
there  is  her  music,  even  if  she  had  no  household  duties  to 
occupy  her  time  :  and  I  know  she  will  make  an  active 
and  thrifty  housewife.  Indeed,  the  only  idler  will  be  the 
Lieutenant,  and  he  can  become  a  Captain  of  Volunteers." 

And  yet  she  says  she  never  lays  plans  ! — that  she  has  no 
wish  to  interfere  between  Arthur  and  von  Rosen  ! — that 
she  would  rather  see  Bell  relieved  from  the  persecutions  of 
both  of  them !  She  had  already  mapped  out  the  whole 
affair  ;  and  her  content  was  so  great  that  a  beautiful  glad- 
ness and  softness  lay  in  her  eyes  ;  and  she  began  to  prattle 
about  the  two  boys  at  school,  and  all  she  meant  to  take 
back  for  them  ;  and,  indeed,  if  she  had  been  at  home,  she 
would  have  gone  to  the  piano  ajid  sung  to  herself  some  low 

R  2 


244  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

and  gentle  melody,  as  soft  and  as  musical  as  the  crooning 
of  a  wood-pigeon  hid  away  among  trees. 

Then  she  said,  "  How  odd  that  Bell  should  have  begun  to 
talk  about  those  unfortunate  slips  of  the  tongue  that  haunt 
you  afterwards.  All  these  two  days  I  haven't  been  able  to 
get  rid  of  the  remembrance  of  that  terrible  mistake  I  made 
in  speaking  of  Count  von  Rosen  and  Bell  as  already  married. 
But  who  knows  ? — there  may  be  a  Providence  in  such 
things." 

"  The  Providence  that  lies  in  blunders  of  speech  must  be 
rather  erratic  ;  but  it  is  no  wonder  you  spoke  by  mischance 
of  Bell's  marrying  the  Lieutenant,  for  you  think  of  nothing 
else." 

"  But  don't  you  think  it  would  be  a  very  good  thing  ?  " 

"What  I  think  of  it  is  a  different  matter.  What  will 
Arthur  think  of  it  ?  " 

"The  whole  world  can't  be  expected  to  move  round 
merely  to  please  Arthur,"  says  my  Lady,  with  some  asperity. 
"  The  fact  is,  those  young  men  are  so  foolish  that  they 
never  reflect  that  a  girl  can't  marry  two  of  them.  They 
are  always  falling  in  love  with  a  girl  who  has  a  suitor 
already  ;  and  then  she  is  put  to  the  annoyance  of  refusing 
one  of  them,  and  that  one  considers  her  a  monster." 

"  Well,  if  anyone  is  open  to  that  charge  in  the  present 
case,  it  certainly  is  not  Arthur." 

My  Lady  did  not  answer.  She  was  regarding  with  a 
tender  glance  those  two  young  folks  strolling  through  the 
meadows  before  us.  What  were  they  saying  to  each  other  ? 
Would  Bell  relent  ?  The  time  was  propitious — in  the  quiet 
of  this  pale,  clear  evening,  with  a  star  or  two  beginning  to 
twinkle,  and  the  moon  about  to  creep  up  from  behind  the 
eastern  woods.  It  was  a  time  for  lovers  to  make  confes- 
sions, and  give  tender  pledges.  None  of  us  seemed  to  think 
of  that  wretched  youth  who  was  blindly  driving  through 
England  in  a  dog-cart,  and  torturing  himself  in  the  horrible 
solitude  of  inns.  Unhappy  Arthur  ! 

For  mere  courtesy's  sake,  those  two  drew  near  to  us  again. 
We  looked  at  them.  Bell  turned  her  face  away,  and  stooped 
to  pick  up  the  white  blossom  of  a  campion  that  lay  like  a 
great  glow-worm  among  the  dark  herbage.  The  Lieutenant 
seemed  a  little  more  confident,  and  he  was  anxious  to  be 


OF  A  PHAETON.  245 

very  courteous  and  friendly  towards  Tita.  That  lady  was 
quite  demure,  and  suggested  that  we  might  return  to  the 
village. 

"We  clambered  up  a  steep  place  that  led  from  the  hollow 
of  the  river  to  a  higher  plain  ;  and  here  we  found  ourselves 
by  the  side  of  the  canal.  It  looked  like  another  river. 
There  were  grassy  borders  to  it,  and  by  the  side  of  the  path 
a  deep  wood  descending  to  the  fields  beyond.  The  moon 
had  now  arisen  ;  and,  on  the  clear,  still  water,  there  were 
some  ripples  of  gold.  Far  away,  on  the  other  side,  the 
barns  and  haystacks  of  a  farm-house  were  visible  in  the  pale 
glow  of  the  sky. 

"  What  is  that  ?  "  said  Tita,  hurriedly,  as  a  large  white 
object  sailed  silently  through  the  faint  moonlight  and  swept 
into  the  wood. 

Only  an  owl.  But  the  sound  of  her  voice  had  disturbed 
several  of  the  great  birds  in  the  trees  ;  and  across  the  space 
between  the  wood  and  the  distant  farm-house  they  fled 
noiselessly,  with  a  brief  reflection  of  their  broad  wings 
falling  on  the  still  waters  as  they  passed.  We  remained 
there  an  unconscionable  time — leaning  on  the  stone  parapet 
of  the  bridge,  and  watching  the  pallid  line  of  the  canal,  the 
ripples  of  the  moonlight,  the  dark  wood,  and  the  great  and 
dusky  birds  that  floated  about  like  ghosts  in  the  perfect 
stillness.  When  we  returned  to  Garstang,  the  broad  square 
in  the  centre  of  the  place  was  glimmering  grey  in  the  moon- 
light, and  black  shadows  had  fallen  along  one  side  of  the 
street. 

"  My  dear  friend,"  said  von  Rosen,  in  an  excited  and 
urgent  way,  as  soon  as  our  two  companions  had  gone 
upstairs  to  prepare  for  supper,  "  I  have  great  news  to  tell 
you." 

"  Bell  has  accepted  you,  I  suppose,"  said  I — the  boy 
talking  as  if  that  were  a  remarkable  phenomenon  in  the 
world's  history. 

"  Oh  no,  nothing  so  good  as  that — nothing  not  near  so 
good  as  that — but  something  very  good  indeed.  It  is  not 
all  finally  disposed  of — there  is  at  least  a  little  chance — one 
must  wait — but  is  not  this  a  very  great  hope  ?  " 

"And  is  that  all  you  obtained  by  your  hour's  per- 
suasion ? " 


246  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

"  Pfui  !  You  do  talk  as  if  it  did  not  matter  to  a  young 
girl  whether  she  marries  one  man  or  marries  another." 

"  I  don't  think  it  much  matters  really." 

"  Then  this  is  what  I  tell  you " 

But  here  some  light  footsteps  were  heard  on  the  stairs ; 
and  the  Lieutenant  suddenly  ceased,  and  rushed  to  open  the 
door. 

Bell  was  as  rosy  as  a  rose  set  amid  green  leaves  when  she 
entered,  followed  by  Tita. 

"  We  are  very  late,"  said  the  girl,  as  if  she  were  rather 
afraid  to  hazard  that  startling  and  profound  observation. 

"  Madame,"  said  the  Lieutenant,  "  I  give  you  my  word 
this  is  the  best  ale  we  have  drunk  since  we  started  ;  it  is 
clear,  bright,  very  bitter,  brisk  ;  it  is  worth  a  long  journey 
to  drink  such  ale  ;  and  I  hope  your  husband,  when  he  writes 
of  our  journey,  will  give  our  landlady  great  credit  for  this 
very  good  beer." 

I  do  so  willingly  ;  but  lest  any  ingenuous  traveller  should 
find  the  ale  of  the  Royal  Oak  not  quite  fulfil  the  expectations 
raised  by  this  panegyric,  I  must  remind  him  that  it  was 
pronounced  after  the  Lieutenant  had  been  walking  for  an 
hour  along  the  banks  of  the  Wyre,  on  a  beautiful  evening, 
in  the  company  of  a  very  pretty  young  lady. 

We  had  abolished  bezique  by  this  time.  It  had  become 
too  much  of  a  farce.  Playing  four-handed  bezique  with 
partners  is  a  clumsy  contrivance  ;  and  when  we  had  en- 
deavoured to  play  it  independently,  the  audacity  of  the 
Lieutenant  in  sacrificing  the  game  to  Bell's  interests  had 
got  beyond  a  joke.  So  we  had  fallen  back  on  whist ;  and 
as  we  made  those  two  ardent  young  noodles  partners,  they 
did  their  best.  It  wasn't  very  good,  to  tell  the  truth.  The 
Lieutenant  was  as  bad  a  whist-player  as  ever  perplexed  a 
partner  ;  but  Bell  could  play  a  weak  suit  as  well  as  another. 
My  Lady  was  rather  pleased  to  find  that  the  Lieutenant  was 
not  a  skilful  card-player.  She  was  deeply  interested  in  the 
qualities  of  the  young  man  whom  she  regarded  in  a  premature 
fashion  as  Bell's  future  husband.  In  fact,  if  she  had  only 
dared,  she  would  have  examined  the  young  fellows  who 
came  about  the  house — Bell  has  had  a  pretty  fair  show  of 
suitors  in  her  time — as  to  the  condition  of  the  inner  side  of 
their  right  thumb.  It  is  a  bad  sign  when  that  portion  of 


OF  A  PHAETON.  247 

the  hand  gets  rather  horny.  A  man  might  as  well  go  about 
with  a  piece  of  chalk,  marked  "  Thurston  and  Co.,"  in  his 
waistcoat  pocket.  But  the  Lieutenant  scarcely  knew  the 
difference  between  a  cue  and  a  pump-handle. 

We  played  late.  The  people  of  the  inn,  yielding  to  our 
entreaties,  had  long  ago  gone  to  bed.  When,  at  length, 
Queen  Tita  and  Bell  also  retired,  the  Lieutenant  rose  from 
the  table,  stretched  himself  up  to  his  full  length,  and  said — - 

"  My  good  friend,  I  have  much  of  a  favour  to  ask  from 
you.  I  will  repay  you  for  it  many  times  again — I  will  sit 
up  with  you  and  smoke  all  night  as  often  as  you  please, 
which  I  think  is  your  great  notion  of  enjoyment.  But  now, 
I  have  a  great  many  things  to  tell  you — and  the  room  is 
close — let  us  go  away  for  a  walk." 

It  was  only  the  strong  nervous  excitement  of  the  young 
man  that  was  longing  for  this  outburst  into  the  freedom  of 
the  cool  air.  He  would  have  liked,  then,  to  have  started  off 
at  a  rate  of  five  miles  an  hour,  and  walked  himself  dead  with 
fatigue.  He  was  so  anxious  about  it  that  at  last  we  took  a 
candle  to  the  front  door,  got  the  bolts  undone,  and  then, 
leaving  the  candle  and  the  matches  where  we  knew  we  should 
find  them,  we  went  out  into  the  night. 

By  this  time  the  moon  had  got  well  down  into  the  south- 
west ;  but  there  was  still  sufficient  light  to  show  us  the 
cottages,  the  roads,  and  the  trees.  The  night  air  was  fresh 
and  cool.  As  we  started  off  on  our  vague  ramble,  a  cock 
crew,  and  the  sound  seemed  to  startle  the  deep  sleep  of  the 
landscape.  We  crossed  over  the  canal-bridge,  and  plunged 
boldly  out  into  the  still  country,  whither  we  knew  not. 

Then  he  told  me  all  the  story  ;  beginning  with  the  half- 
forgotten  legend  of  Fraulein  Fallersleben.  I  had  had  no 
idea  that  this  practical  and  hard-headed  young  Uhlan  had 
been  so  deeply  struck  on  either  occasion  ;  but  now  at  times 
there  seemed  to  be  a  wild  cry  of  ignorance  in  his  confessions, 
as  if  he  knew  not  what  had  happened  to  him,  and  what 
great  mystery  of  life  he  was  battling  with.  He  described 
it  as  resembling  somehow  the  unutterable  sadness  caused  by 
the  sudden  coming  of  the  Spring — when,  amid  all  the  glory 
and  wonder  and  delight  of  this  new  thing,  a  vague  unrest 
and  longing  takes  possession  of  the  heart  and  will  not  be 
satisfied.  All  his  life  had  been  changed  since  his  coming  to 


248  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

England — turned  in  another  direction,  and  made  to  depend 
for  any  value  that  might  be  left  in  it  on  a  single  chance. 
"When  he  spoke  of  Bell  perhaps  marrying  him,  all  the  wild 
and  beautiful  possibilities  of  the  future  seemed  to  stretch 
out  before  him,  until  he  was  fairly  at  a  loss  for  words. 
When  he  spoke  of  her  finally  going  away  from  him,  it  was 
as  of  something  he  could  not  quite  understand.  It  would 
alter  all  his  life — how,  he  did  not  know  ;  and  the  new  and 
wonderful  consciousness  that  by  such  a  circumstance  the 
world  would  grow  all  different  to  him  seemed  to  him 
a  mystery  beyond  explication.  He  only  knew  that  this 
strange  thing  had  occurred ;  that  it  had  brought  home  to 
him  once  more  the  old  puzzles  about  life  that  had  made  him 
wonder  as  a  boy  ;  that  he  was  drifting  on  to  an  irrevocable 
fate,  now  that  the  final  decision  was  near. 

He  talked  rapidly,  earnestly,  heeding  little  the  blunders 
and  repetitions  into  which  he  constantly  fell :  and  not  all 
the  vesuvians  in  the  world  could  have  kept  his  cigar  alight. 
He  did  not  walk  very  fast ;  but  he  cut  at  the  weeds  and  at 
the  hedges  with  his  stick ;  and  doubtless  startled  with  his 
blows  many  a  sparrow  and  wren  sleeping  peacefully  among 
the  leaves.  I  cannot  tell  you  a  tithe  of  what  he  said.  The 
story  seemed  as  inexhaustible  as  the  nebulous  mystery  that 
he  was  obviously  trying  to  resolve  while  it  hung  around  him 
in  impalpable  folds.  When  he  came  to  the  actual  question 
whether  Bell  had  given  him  to  understand  that  she  might 
reconsider  her  decision,  he  was  more  reticent.  He  would 
not  reveal  what  she  had  said.  But  there  was  no  pride  or 
self -looking  in  the  anxiety  about  the  result  which  he  frankly 
expressed  ;  and  it  is  probable  that  if  Bell  had  heard  him 
then,  she  would  have  learned  more  of  his  nature  and  senti- 
ments than  during  any  hour's  stroll  under  the  supervision  of 
her  guardians. 

When  at  length  we  turned,  a  shock  of  wonder  struck  upon 
our  eyes.  The  day  had  begun  to  break  ;  and  a  cold  wind 
was  stirring.  As  yet,  there  was  only  a  faint  light  in  the 
dark  heavens  ;  but  by  and  by  a  strange,  clear  whiteness  rose 
up  from  behind  the  still  landscape  ;  and  then  a  mysterious 
cold,  yellow  radiance,  against  which  the  tall  poplars  looked 
intensely  black,  overspread  the  far  regions  of  the  east.  Wan 
and  unearthly  seemed  that  metallic  glare,  even  when  a  pale 


OF  A  PHAETON.  249 

glimmer  of  red  ran  up  and  through  it ;  and,  as  yet,  it  looked 
like  the  sunrise  of  some  other  world ;  for  neither  man  nor 
beast  was  awake  to  greet  it ;  and  all  the  woods  were  as  silent 
as  the  grave.  When  we  got  back  to  Garstang,  the  wind 
came  chill  along  the  grey  stones  ;  the  birds  were  singing  ;  and 
the  glow  of  the  sunrise  was  stealing  over  the  chimneys  and 
slates  of  the  sleeping  houses.  We  left  this  wonderful  light 
outside  ;  plunged  into  the  warm  and  gloomy  passage  of  the 
inn  ;  and  presently  tumbled,  tired  and  shivering,  into  bed. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

CHLOE'S  GARLAND. 

"The  pride  of  every  grove  I  chose, 

The  violet  sweet  and  lily  fair, 
The  dappled  pink  and  blushing  rose, 
To  deck  my  charming  Chloe's  hair. 

"At  morn  the  nymph  vouchsafed  to  place 

Upon  her  brow  the  various  wreath ; 
The  flowers  less  blooming  than  her  face, 
The  scent  less  fragrant  than  her  breath. 

"The  flowers  she  wore  along  the  day, 

And  every  nymph  and  shepherd  said, 
That  in  her  hair  they  looked  more  gay 
Than  glowing  in  their  native  bed." 

Is  there  any  blue  half  so  pure,  and  deep,  and  tender  as 
that  of  the  large  crane's-bill,  the  Geranium  pratense  of  the 
botanists  ?  When  Bell  saw  the  beautiful,  rich-coloured 
blossoms  in  the  tall  hedge-rows  she  declared  we  were  already 
in  the  North  Country,  and  must  needs  descend  from  the  phae- 
ton to  gather  some  of  the  wild-flowers ;  and  lo  !  all  around 
there  was  such  a  profusion  that  she  stood  bewildered  before 
them.  Everywhere  about  were  the  white  stars  of  the  stitch- 
wort  glimmering  among  the  green  of  the  goose-grass.  The 
clear  red  blossoms  of  the  campion  shone  here  and  there ; 
and  the  viscid  petals  of  the  Ragged  Robin  glimmered  a 
bright  crimson  as  they  straggled  through  the  thorny 
branches  of  the  hawthorn.  Here,  too,  was  the  beautiful 
harebell — the  real  "  bluebell  of  Scotland  " — with  its  slender 
stem  and  its  pellucid  colour ;  and  here  was  its  bigger  and 


250  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

bolder  relative,  the  great  hedge  campanula,  with  its  massive 
bells  of  azure,  and  its  succulent  stalk.  There  were  yellow 
masses  of  snapdragon ;  an  abundance  of  white  and  pink 
roses  sweetening  the  air  ;  and  all  the  thousand  wonders  of  a 
luxuriant  vegetation.  The  Lieutenant  immediately  jumped 
down.  He  harried  the  hedges  as  if  they  had  been  a  province 
of  the  enemy's  country,  and  he  in  quest  of  forage  and  food. 
The  delight  of  Bell  :in  these  wild-flowers  was  extravagant  ; 
and  when  he  had  gathered  for  her  every  variety  of  hue  that 
he  could  see,  she  chose  a  few  of  the  blossoms  and  twisted 
them,  with  a  laugh  of  light  pleasure,  into  the  breezy  masses  of 
her  hair.  Could  a  greater  compliment  have  been  paid  him  ? 

If  it  was  not  really  the  North  Country  which  Bell  so 
longed  to  enter,  it  was  on  the  confines  of  it ;  and  already 
many  premonitory  signs  were  visible.  These  tall  hedge- 
rows, with  their  profusion  of  wild-flowers,  were  a  wonder. 
We  crossed  dark-brown  streams,  the  picturesque  banks  of 
which  were  smothered  in  every  sort  of  bush  and  herb  and 
plant.  At  last,  a  breath  of  the  morning  air  brings  us  a 
strange,  new  scent,  that  is  far  more  grateful  than  that  of  any 
wreath  of  flowers,  and  at  the  same  moment  both  Bell  and 
Tita  call  out— 

"  Oh,  there  is  the  peat-smoke  at  last  !  " 

Peat-smoke  it  is  ;  and  presently  we  come  upon  the  cottages 
which  are  sending  abroad  this  fragrance  into  the  air.  They 
are  hidden  down  in  a  dell  by  the  side  of  a  small  river  ;  and 
they  are  surrounded  by  low  and  thick  elder-trees.  Bell  is 
driving.  She  will  not  even  stop  to  look  at  this  picturesque 
little  nook ;  it  is  but  an  outpost,  and  the  promised  land  is 
nigh. 

The  day,  meanwhile,  is  grey  and  showery  ;  but  sometimes 
a  sudden  burst  of  sunshine  springs  down  on  the  far,  flat 
landscape,  and  causes  it  to  shine  in  the  distance.  "We  pass 
by  many  a  stately  Hall  and  noble  Park — Bell,  with  the  wild- 
flowers  in  her  hair,  still  driving — until  we  reach  the  top  of 
a  certain  height,  and  find  a  great  prospect  lying  before  us. 
The  windy  day  has  cleared  away  the  light  clouds  in  the 
west ;  and  there,  under  a  belt  of  blue  sky,  lies  a  glimmer 
of  the  sea.  The  plain  of  the  landscape  leading  down  to  it  is 
divided  by  the  estuary  of  the  Lime  ;  and  as  you  trace  the 
course  of  the  river,  up  through  the  country  that  lies  under 


OF  A  PHAETON.  251 

the  over- clouded  portion  of  the  heavens,  some  tall  buildings 
are  seen  in  the  distance,  and  a  fortress  upon  a  height 
resembling  some  lesser  Edinburgh  Castle.  We  drive  on 
through  the  gusty  day — the  tail  of  a  shower  sometimes  over- 
taking us  from  the  south  and  causing  a  hurried  clamour  for 
waterproofs,  which  have  immediately  to  be  set  aside  as  the 
sun  bursts  forth  again  ;  and  then  we  plunge  into  a  clean, 
bright,  picturesque  town,  and  find  ourselves  in  front  of  the 
King's  Arms  at  Lancaster. 

Bell  has  taken  the  flowers  from  her  hair,  in  nearing  the 
abodes  of  men  ;  but  she  has  placed  them  tenderly  by  the 
side  of  the  bouquet  that  the  Lieutenant  gathered  for  her  ; 
and  now  she  gently  asks  a  waiter  for  a  tumbler  of  water,  into 
which  the  blossoms  are  put.  The  Lieutenant  watches  her 
every  movement  as  anxiously  as  ever  a  Roman  watched  the 
skimmings  and  dippings  of  the  bird  whose  flight  was  to 
predict  ruin  or  fortune  to  him.  He  had  no  opportunities  to 
lose.  Time  was  pressing  on.  This  night  we  were  to  reach 
Kendal ;  and  there  the  enemy  was  lying  in  wait. 

Bell,  at  least,  did  not  seem  much  to  fear  that  meeting 
with  Arthur.  When  she  spoke  of  him  to  Tita,  she  was  grave 
and  thoughtful ;  but  when  she  spoke  of  Westmoreland,  there 
was  no  qualification  of  her  unbounded  hope  and  delight. 
She  would  scarce  look  at  Lancaster  ;  although,  when  we  went 
up  to  the  castle,  and  had  a  walk  round  to  admire  the 
magnificent  view  from  the  walls,  an  unwonted  stir  in  front 
of  the  great  gate  told  us  that  something  unusual  had 
happened.  The  Lieutenant  went  down  and  mixed  with  the 
crowd.  We  saw  him — a  head  and  shoulders  taller  than  the 
assemblage  of  men  and  women — speaking  now  to  one  and 
now  to  another  ;  and  then  at  length  he  came  back. 

"  Madame,"  he  says,  "  there  is  something  wonderful  to  be 
seen  in  the  castle.  All  these  people  are  pressing  to  get  in." 

"  Is  it  some  soup  plate  of  Henry  the  Eighth  that  has 
been  disinterred  ?  "  she  asks,  with  a  slight  show  of  scorn. 
Indeed,  she  seldom  loses  an  opportunity  of  sticking  another 
needle  into  her  mental  image  of  that  poor  monarch. 

"  Oh  no,  it  is  something  much  more  interesting.  It  is  a 
murderer." 

"  A  murderer  !  " 

"Yes,  Madame,  but  you  need  not  feel  alarmed.     He  is 


252  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

caged — he  will  not  bite.  All  these  good  people  are  going  in 
to  look  at  him." 

"  I  would  not  look  at  the  horrid  creature  for  worlds." 

"  He  is  not  a  monster  of  iniquity,"  I  tell  her.  "  On  the 
contrary,  he  is  a  harmless  creature,  and  deserves  your  pity. 
All  he  did  was  to  kill  his  wife." 

"  And  I  suppose  they  will  punish  him  with  three  months' 
imprisonment,"  says  Queen  Tita  ;  "  whereas  they  would  give 
him  seven  years  if  he  had  stolen  a  purse  with  half-a-crown 
in  it." 

"Naturally.  I  consider  three  months  a  great  deal  too 
much,  however.  Doubtless  she  contradicted  him." 

"  But  it  is  not  true,  Tita,"  says  Bell.  "  None  of  us  knew 
that  the  murderer  was  in  the  castle  until  this  moment.  How 
can  you  believe  that  he  killed  his  wife  ?  " 

"  There  may  be  a  secret  sympathy  between  these  two," 
says  my  Lady,  with  a  demure  laugh  in  her  eyes,  "  which 
establishes  a  communication  between  them  which  we  don't 
understand.  You  know  the  theory  of  brain-waves.  But  it 
is  hard  that  the  one  should  be  within  the  prison  and  the 
other  without." 

"  Yes,  it's  very  hard  for  the  one  without.  The  one  inside 
the  prison  has  got  rid  of  his  torment  and  escaped  into 
comparative  quiet." 

She  is  a  dutiful  wife.  She  never  retorts — when  she  hasn't 
a  retort  ready.  She  takes  my  arm  just  as  if  nothing  had 
happened,  and  we  descend  from  the  castle  square  into  the 
town.  And  behold  !  as  we  enter  the  grey  thoroughfare,  a 
wonderful  sight  comes  into  view.  Down  the  far  white 
street,  where  occasional  glimpses  of  sunlight  are  blown 
across  by  the  wind,  a  gorgeous  procession  is  seen  to  advance, 
glittering  in  silver,  and  coloured  plumes,  and  all  the  pomp 
and  circumstance  of  a  tournament.  There  is  a  cry  of 
amazement  throughout  Lancaster  ;  and  from  all  points  of 
the  compass  people  hurry  up.  It  is  just  two  ;  and  men  from 
the  factories,  flocking  out  for  their  dinner,  stand  amazed  on 
the  pavement.  The  procession  comes  along  through  the 
shadow  and  the  sunlight  like  some  gleaming  and  gigantic 
serpent  with  scales  of  silver  and  gold.  There  are  noble 
knights,  dressed  in  complete  armour,  and  seated  on  splendid 
chargers.  They  bring  with  them  spears,  and  banners,  and 


OF  A  PHAETON.  253 

other  accessories  of  war  ;  and  their  horses  are  shining  with 
the  magnificence  of  their  trappings.  There  are  ladies 
wearing  the  historical  costumes  which  are  familiar  to  us 
in  picture  galleries ;  and  they  are  seated  on  cream-white 
palfreys,  with  flowing  manes,  and  tails  that  sweep  the 
ground.  Then  a  resplendent  palanquin  appears  in  view, 
drawn  by  six  yellow  horses,  and  waving  and  trembling  with 
plumes  of  pink  and  white.  Inside  this  great  and  gilded 
carriage,  the  Queen  of  Beauty  sits  enthroned,  attended  by 
ladies  whose  trains  of  silk  and  satin  shimmer  like  the  neck 
of  a  dove.  And  the  while  our  eyes  are  still  dazzled  with  the 
glory  of  this  slowly  passing  pageant,  the  end  of  it  appears  in 
the  shape  of  a  smart  and  natty  little  trap,  driven  by  the 
proprietor  of  the  circus  in  plain  clothes.  The  anti-climax  is 
too  much.  The  crowd  regard  this  wretched  fellow  with 
disdain.  When  a  historical  play  is  produced,  and  we  are 
introduced  to  the  majesty  of  war,  and  even  shown  the  king's 
tent  on  the  battle-field,  the  common  sutler  is  hidden  out 
of  sight.  This  miserable  man's  obtrusion  of  himself  was 
properly  resented  ;  for  the  spectacle  of  the  brilliant  pro- 
cession coming  along  the  grey  and  white  thoroughfares, 
with  a  breezy  sky  overshadowing  or  lighting  it  up,  was 
sufficiently  imposing  ;  and  ought  not  to  have  been  destroyed 
by  the  vanity  of  a  person  in  plain  clothes  who  wanted  to  let 
us  know  that  he  was  the  owner  of  all  this  splendour,  and 
who  thought  he  ought  to  follow  last,  as  Noah  did  on  going 
into  the  Ark. 

"  Gallop  apace,  you  fiery-footed  steeds  ! " — that  was  the 
wish  I  knew  lay  deep  down  in  Bell's  heart  as  we  went  away 
from  Lancaster.  If  Castor  and  Pollux  did  their  work 
gallantly,  we  should  sleep  to-night  in  Kendal,  and  thereafter 
there  would  be  abundant  rest.  This  last  day's  journey  con- 
sisted of  thirty-three  miles — considerably  above  our  average 
day's  distance — and  we  had  accordingly  cut  it  up  into  three 
portions.  From  Garstang  to  Lancaster  is  eleven  miles  ; 
from  Lancaster  to  Burton  is  eleven  miles  ;  from  Burton  to 
Kendal  is  eleven  miles.  Now  Burton  is  in  Westmoreland  ; 
and,  once  within  her  own.  county,  Bell  knew  she  was  at  home. 

'Twas  a  perilous  sort  of  day  in  which  to  approach  the 
region  of  the  Northern  Lakes.  In  the  very  best  of  weather, 
the  great  mountains  that  stand  on  the  margin  of  the  sea, 


254  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

ready  to  condense  any  moist  vapours  that  may  float  in  from 
the  west  and  south,  are  apt  to  play  sudden  tricks  and  drown 
the  holiday-makers  whom  the  sun  has  drawn  out  of  the 
cottages,  houses,  and  hotels  up  in  the  deep  valleys.  But 
now  there  were  abundant  clouds  racing  and  chasing  each 
other  like  the  folk  who  sped  across  Cannobie  Lea  to  over- 
take the  bride  of  young  Lochinvar ;  and  ever  and  again 
the  wind  would  drive  down  on  us  the  flying  fringes  of  one 
of  these  masses  of  vapour,  producing  a  temporary  fear.  Bell 
cared  least  for  these  premonitions.  She  would  not  even 
cover  herself  with  a  cloak.  Many  a  time  we  could  see  tiny 
drops  glimmering  in  her  brown  hair  and  dripping  from  the 
flowers  that  she  had  again  twisted  in  the  folds  ;  but  she  sat 
erect  and  glad,  with  a  fine  colour  in  her  face  that  the  wet 
breeze  only  heightened.  When  we  got  up  to  Slyne  and 
Bolton-le-Sands,  and  came  in  sight  of  the  long  sweep  of 
Morecambe  Bay,  she  paid  no  attention  to  the  fact  that  all 
along  the  far  horizon  the  clouds  had  melted  into  a  white 
belt  of  rain.  It  was  enough  for  her  that  the  sun  was  out 
there  too  ;  sometimes  striking  with  a  pale  silvery  light  on 
the  plain  of  the  sea,  sometimes  throwing  a  stronger  colour 
on  the  long  curve  of  level  sand.  A  wetter  or  windier  sight 
never  met  the  view  of  an  apprehensive  traveller  than  that 
great  stretch  of  ocean  and  sky.  The  glimmer  of  the  sun 
only  made  the  moisture  in  the  air  more  apparent  as  the  grey 
clouds  were  sent  flying  up  from  the  south-west.  We  could 
not  tell  whether  the  sea  was  breaking  white  or  not ;  but  the 
fierce  blowing  of  the  wind  was  apparent  in  the  hurrying 
trails  of  cloud  and  in  the  rapidly  shifting  shafts  of  sunlight 
that  now  and  again  shot  down  on  the  sands. 

"Bell,"  said  Tita,  with  a  little  anxiety,  "you  used  to 
pride  yourself  on  being  able  to  forecast  the  weather,  when  you 
lived  up  among  the  hills.  Don't  you  think  we  shall  have  a 
wet  afternoon  ? — and  we  have  nearly  twenty  miles  to  go  yet." 

The  girl  laughed. 

"  Mademoiselle  acknowledges  we  shall  have  a  little  rain," 
said  the  Lieutenant,  with  a  grim  smile.  If  Bell  was  good 
at  studying  the  appearances  of  the  sky,  he  had  acquired 
some  skill  in  reading  the  language  of  her  eloquent  face. 

"  Why,"  says  one  of  the  party,  "  a  deaf  man  down  in  a 
coal-pit  could  tell  what  sort  of  afternoon  we  shall  have, 


OF  A  PHAETON.  255 

The  wind  is  driving  the  clouds  up.     The  hills  are  stoppin 
them  on  the  way.     When  we  enter  Westmoreland  we  shal 
find  the  whole  forces  of  the  rain-fiends  drawn  out  in  arms 
against  us.    But  that  is  nothing  to  Bell,  so  long  as  we  enter 
Westmoreland." 

"  Ah,  you  shall  see,"  remarks  Bell.  "  We  may  have  a  little 
rain  this  evening." 

"  Yes,  that  is  very  likely,"  observes  the  Lieutenant,  who 
seems  greatly  tickled  by  this  frank  admission. 

"  But  to-morrow,  if  this  strong  wind  keeps  up  all  night, 
would  you  be  astonished  to  find  Kendal  with  its  stone  houses 
all  shining  white  in  the  sun  ?  " 

"  Yes,  I  should  be  astonished." 

"  You  must  not  provoke  the  prophetess,"  says  my  Lady, 
who  is  rather  nervous  about  rainy  weather,  "  or  she  will  turn 
round  on  you,  and  predict  all  sorts  of  evil." 

We  could  not  exactly  tell  when  we  crossed  the  border  line 
of  Westmoreland,  or  doubtless  Bell  would  have  jumped  down 
from  the  phaeton  to  kneel  and  kiss  her  native  soil ;  but  at 
all  events  when  we  reached  the  curious  little  village  of 
Burton  we  knew  we  were  then  in  Westmoreland,  and  Bell 
ushered  us  into  the  ancient  hostelry  of  the  Royal  Oak  as  if 
she  had  been  the  proprietress  of  that  and  all  the  surrounding 
country.  In  former  days  Burton  was  doubtless  a  place  of 
importance,  when  the  stage-coaches  stopped  here  before 
plunging  into  the  wild  mountain-country  ;  and  in  the  inn, 
which  remains  pretty  much  what  it  was  in  the  last  genera- 
tion, were  abundant  relics  of  the  past.  When  the  Lieu- 
tenant and  I  returned  from  the  stables  to  the  old-fashioned 
little  parlour  and  museum  of  the  place,  we  found  Bell 
endeavouring  to  get  some  quivering,  trembling,  jangling 
notes  out  of  the  piano,  that  was  doubtless  a  fine  piece  of 
furniture  at  one  time.  A  piece  of  yellow  ivory  informed  the 
beholder  that  this  venerable  instrument  had  been  made  by 
"  Thomas  Tomkison,  Dean  Street,  Soho,  Manufacturer  to 
his  Eoyal  Highness  the  Prince  Regent."  And  what  was 
this  that  Bell  was  hammering  out  ? 

"  The  standard  on  the  braes  o'  Mai- 
ls up  and  streaming  rarely ! 
The  gathering  pipe  on  Lochnagar 
Is  sounding  lang  and  clearly ! 


256  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

The  Highlandmen,  from  hill  and  glen, 
In  martial  hue,  wi*  bonnets  blue, 
Wi'  belted  plaids  and  burnished  blades, 
Are  coming  late  and  early." 

How  the  faded  old  instrument  groaned  and  quivered  as  if  it 
were  struggling  to  get  up  some  martial  sentiment  of  its  half- 
forgotten  youth  !  It  did  its  best  to  pant  after  that  rapid 
and  stirring  air,  and  laboured  and  jangled  in  a  pathetic 
fashion  through  the  chords.  It  seemed  like  some  poor  old 
pensioner,  decrepit  and  feeble-eyed,  who  sees  a  regiment 
passing  with  their  band  playing,  and  who  tries  to  straighten 
himself  up  as  he  hears  the  tread  of  the  men,  and  would  fain 
step  out  to  the  sound  of  the  music,  but  that  his  thin  legs 
tremble  beneath  him.  The  wretched  old  piano  struggled 
hard  to  keep  up  with  the  Gathering  of  the  Clans  as  they 
hastened  on  to  the  braes  o'  Mar  : — • 

"  Wha  wouldna  join  our  noble  chief, 
The  Drummond  and  Glengarry; 
Macgregor,  Murray,  Hollo,  Keith, 
Pannmre  and  gallant  Harry ! 

Macdonald's  men, 

Clan  Kanald's  men, 

M'Kenzie's  men, 

MacGilvray's  men, 

Strathallan's  men, 

The  Lowland  men 
Of  Callander  and  Airlie!" 

until  my  Lady  put  her  hand  gently  on  Bell's  shoulder,  and 
said — 

"  My  dear,  this  is  worse  than  eating  green  apples." 

Bell  shut  down  the  lid. 

"It  is  time  for  this  old  thing  to  be  quiet,"  she  said. 
"The  people  who  sang  with  it  when  it  was  in  its  prime, 
they  cannot  sing  any  more  now,  and  it  has  earned  its  rest." 

Bell  uttered  these  melancholy  words  as  she  turned  to  look 
out  of  the  window.  It  was  rather  a  gloomy  afternoon. 
There  was  less  wind  visible  in  the  motion  of  the  clouds  ;  but 
in  place  of  the  flying  and  hurrying  masses  of  vapour,  an 
ominous  pall  of  grey  was  visible  ;  and  the  main  thoroughfare 
of  Burton-in-Kendal  was  gradually  growing  moister  under  a 
slow  rain.  Suddenly  the  girl  said — 


OF  A  PHAETON.  257 

"  Is  it  possible  for  Arthur  to  have  reached  Kendal  ?  " 

The  Lieutenant  looked  up,  with  something  of  a  frown  on 
his  face. 

"Yes,"  I  answered  her,  "if  he  keeps  up  the  pace  with 
which  he  started.  Thirty  miles  a  day  in  a  light  dog-cart 
will  not  seriously  damage  the  Major's  cob,  if  only  he  gets  a 
day's  rest  now  and  again." 

"  Then  perhaps  Arthur  may  be  coming  along  this  road 
just  now  ?  " 

"  He  may  ;  but  it  is  hardly  likely.  He  would  come  over 
by  Kirkby  Lonsdale." 

"  I  think  we  should  be  none  the  worse  for  his  company, 
if  he  were  to  arrive,"  said  Tita,  with  a  little  apprehension  ; 
"  for  it  will  be  dark  long  before  we  get  to  Kendal — and  on 
such  a  night,  too,  as  we  are  likely  to  have." 

"  Then  let  us  start  at  once,  Madame,"  said  the  Lieutenant. 
"  The  horses  will  be  ready  to  be  put  in  harness  now,  I  think  ; 
and  they  must  have  as  much  time  for  the  rest  of  the  journey 
as  we  can  give  them.  Then  the  waterproofs — I  will  have 
them  all  taken  out,  and  the  rugs.  We  shall  want  much 
more  than  we  have,  I  can  assure  you  of  that.  And  the 
lamps — we  shall  want  them  too." 

The  Lieutenant  walked  off  to  the  stables  with  these 
weighty  affairs  of  state  possessing  his  mind.  He  was  as 
anxious  to  preserve  the  two  women  from  suffering  a 
shower  of  rain  as  if  he  thought  they  were  made  of  bride's- 
cake.  Out  in  the  yard  we  found  him  planning  the  disposal 
of  the  rugs  with  the  eye  of  a  practised  campaigner,  and 
taking  every  boy  and  man  in  the  place  into  his  confidence. 
Whatever  embarrassment  his  imperfect  English  might  cause 
him  in  a  drawing-room,  there  was  no  need  to  guard  his 
speech  in  a  stable-yard.  But  sometimes  our  Uhlan  was 
puzzled.  What  could  he  make,  for  example,  of  the  following 
sentence,  addressed  to  him  by  a  worthy  ostler  at  G-arstang  : 
"  Yaas,  an  ah  gied'n  a  aff  ~boolcet  0'  chilled  waiter  after  attd 
weshen  'n  ?  "  Of  the  relations  of  the  Lieutenant  with  the 
people  whom  he  thus  casually  encountered,  it  may  be  said 
generally  that  he  was  "hail,  fellow,  well  met,"  with  any 
man  who  seemed  of  a  frank  and  communicable  disposition. 
With  a  good-natured  landlord  or  groom,  he  would  stand  for 
any  length  of  time  talking  about  horses,  their  food,  their 

s 


258  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

ways,  and  the  best  methods  of  doctoring  them.  But  when 
he  encountered  a  sulky  ostler,  the  unfortunate  man  had 
an  evil  time  of  it.  His  temper  was  not  likely  to  be  improved 
by  the  presence  of  this  lounging  young  soldier,  who  stood 
whistling  at  the  door  of  the  stable  and  watching  that  every 
bit  of  the  grooming  was  performed  to  a  nicety,  who  examined 
the  quality  of  the  oats,  and  was  not  content  with  the  hay,  and 
who  calmly  stood  by  with  his  cigar  in  his  mouth  until  he 
had  seen  the  animals  eat  every  grain  of  corn  that  had  been 
put  in  the  manger.  The  bad  temper,  by  the  way,  was  not 
always  on  the  side  of  the  ostler. 

A  vague  proposition  that  we  should  remain  at  Burton  for 
that  night  was  unanimously  rejected.  Come  what  might, 
we  should  start  in  Kendal  with  a  clear  day  before  us  ;  and 
what  mattered  this  running  through  our  final  stage  in  rain  ? 
A  more  feasible  proposition,  that  both  the  women  should  sit 
in  front  so  as  to  get  the  benefit  of  the  hood,  was  rejected 
because  neither  of  them  would  assume  the  responsibility  of 
driving  in  the  dark.  But  here  a  new  and  strange  difficulty 
occurred.  Of  late,  Bell  and  the  Lieutenant  had  never  sat 
together  in  the  phaeton.  Now,  the  Lieutenant  declared  it 
was  much  more  safe  that  the  horses  should  be  driven  by 
their  lawful  owner,  who  was  accustomed  to  them.  Accord- 
ingly, my  post  was  in  front.  Thereupon,  Bell,  with  many 
protestations  of  endearment,  insisted  on  Queen  Tita  having 
the  shelter  of  the  hood.  Bell,  in  fact,  would  not  get  up 
until  she  had  seen  my  Lady  safely  ensconced  there  and 
swathed  up  like  a  mummy  ;  it  followed,  accordingly,  that 
Bell  and  her  companion  were  hidden  from  us  by  the  hood  ; 
and  the  last  of  our  setting-out  arrangements  was  simply  this 
— that  the  Lieutenant  absolutely  and  firmly  refused  to  wear 
his  waterproof,  because,  as  he  said,  it  would  only  have  the 
effect  of  making  the  rain  run  in  streams  on  to  Bell's  tartan 
plaid.  The  girl  put  forward  all  manner  of  entreaties  in 
vain.  The  foolish  young  man — he  was  on  the  headstrong 
side  of  thirty — would  not  hear  of  it. 

So  we  turned  the  horses'  heads  to  the  north.  Alas  !  over 
the  mountainous  country  before  us  there  lay  an  ominous 
darkness  of  sky.  As  we  skirted  Curwen  Woods  and  drove 
by  within  sight  of  Clawthorpe  Fell,  the  road  became  more 
hilly  and  more  lonely  ;  and  it  seemed  as  if  we  were  to  plunge 


OF  A  PHAETON.  259 

into  an  unknown  region  inhabited  only  by  mountains  and 
hanging  clouds.  Nevertheless  we  could  hear  Bell  laughing 
and  chatting  to  the  Lieutenant,  and  talking  about  what  we 
should  have  to  endure  before  we  got  to  Kendal.  As  the 
wind  rose  slightly  and  blew  the  light  waves  of  her  laughter 
about,  Tita  called  through  to  her,  and  asked  her  to  sing 
again  that  Gathering  of  the  Clans  on  the  breezy  braes  o' 
Mar.  But  what  would  the  wild  mountain-spirits  have  done 
to  us  had  they  heard  the  twanging  of  a  guitar  up  in  thfe 
dismal  region,  to  say  nothing  of  the  rain  that  would  have 
destroyed  the  precious  instrument  for  ever  ?  For  it  was 
now  pattering  considerably  on  the  top  of  the  hood  ;  and  the 
wind  had  once  more  begun  to  blow.  The  darkness  grew 
apace.  The  dim  grey  thread  of  the  road  took  us  up  hill 
and  down  dale,  twisting  through  a  variegated  country,  of 
which  we  could  see  little  but  the  tall  hedges  on  each  side 
of  us.  The  rain  increased.  The  wind  tossed  it  about,  and 
moaned  through  the  trees,  and  made  a  sound  in  the  tele- 
graph-wires overhead.  These  lofty  poles  were  destined 
to  be  an  excellent  guide  to  us.  As  the  gloom  gathered 
around,  we  grew  accustomed  to  the  monotonous  rising 
and  falling  of  the  pale  highway,  while  here  and  there  we 
encountered  a  great  pool  of  water,  which  made  the  younger  of 
the  horses  swerve  from  time  to  time.  By  and  by  we  knew 
it  would  be  impossible  to  make  out  any  finger-post  ;  so  that 
the  murmuring  of  the  telegraph-wires  promised  to  tell  us  if 
we  were  still  keeping  the  correct  route  to  Kendal. 

So  we  plunged  on  in  the  deepening  twilight,  splashing  into 
the  shallow  pools,  and  listening  to  the  whistling  of  the  wind 
and  the  hissing  of  the  rain.  Bell  had  made  no  attempt  to 
call  out  the  clans  on  this  wild  night ;  and  both  of  the  young 
folks  had  for  the  most  part  relapsed  into  silence,  unless  when 
they  called  to  us  some  consolatory  message  or  assurance  that 
on  the  whole  they  rather  enjoyed  getting  wet.  But  at  last 
the  Lieutenant  proposed  that  he  should  get  down  and  light 
the  lamps  ;  and,  indeed,  it  was  high  time. 

He  got  down.  He  came  round  to  the  front.  Why  the 
strange  delay  of  his  movements  ?  He  went  round  again  to 
his  seat,  kept  searching  about  for  what  seemed  an  uncon- 
scionable time,  and  then,  coming  back,  said  rather  indiffer- 
ently— 


26o  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

"  Do  you  happen  to  have  a  match  with  you  ?  " 

"  No,"  said  I ;  and  at  the  same  moment  Tita  broke  into 
a  mocking  laugh. 

She  knew  the  shame  and  mortification  that  were  now  on 
the  face  of  the  Lieutenant,  if  only  there  had  been  more  light 
to  see  him  as  he  stood  there.  To  have  an  old  campaigner 
tricked  in  this  way  !  He  remained  irresolute  for  a  second 
or  two  ;  and  then  he  said  in  accents  of  profound  vexa- 
tion— • 

"  It  is  such  stupidity  as  I  never  saw.  I  did  leave  my  case 
in  the  inn.  Madame,  you  must  pardon  me  this  ridiculous 
thing  ;  and  we  must  drive  on  until  we  come  to  a  house." 

A  house  !  The  darkness  had  now  descended  so  rapidly 
that  twenty  houses  would  scarcely  have  been  visible,  unless 
with  yellow  lights  burning  in  their  windows.  There  was 
nothing  for  it  but  to  urge  on  our  wild  career  as  best  we 
might ;  while  we  watched  the  telegraph-posts  to  tell  us  how 
the  road  went ;  and  Castor  and  Pollux,  with  the  wet  stream- 
ing down  them,  whirled  the  four  wheels  through  the  water 
and  mud. 

Tita  had  been  making  merry  over  our  mishap,  but  this 
jocularity  died  away  in  view  of  the  fact  that  at  every 
moment  there  was  a  chance  of  our  driving  headlong  into 
a  ditch.  She  forgot  to  laugh  in  her  efforts  to  make  out 
the  road  before  us  ;  and  at  last,  when  we  drove  into  an 
avenue  of  trees  under  which  there  was  pitch  blackness, 
and  as  we  felt  that  the  horses  were  going  down  a  hill,  she 
called  out  to  stop,  so  that  one  of  us  should  descend  and 
explore  the  way. 

A  blacker  night  has  not  occurred  since  the  separating  of 
light  and  darkness  at  the  Creation  ;  and  when  the  Lieuten- 
ant had  got  to  the  horses'  heads,  it  was  with  the  greatest 
difficulty  he  could  induce  them  to  go  forward  and  down  the 
hill.  He  had  himself  to  feel  his  way  in  a  very  cautious 
fashion  ;  and,  indeed,  his  managing  to  keep  the  phaeton 
somewhere  about  the  middle  of  the  road  until  we  had  got 
from  under  this  black  avenue  must  be  regarded  as  a  feat. 
He  had  scarcely  got  back  into  his  seat,  when  the  rain,  which 
had  been  coming  down  pretty  heavily,  no\v  fell  in  torrents. 
We  could  hear  it  hissing  in  the  pools  of  the  highway,  and  all 
around  us  on  the  trees  and  hedges  ;  while  the  phaeton  seemeci 


OF  A  PHAETON,  261 

to  be  struggling  through  a  waterfall.  No  plaids,  rugs, 
mackintoshes,  or  other  device  of  man,  could  keep  this  deluge 
out ;  and  Tita,  with  an  air  of  calm  resignation,  made  the 
remark  that  one  of  her  shoes  had  come  off  and  floated 
away.  To  crown  all,  we  suddenly  discovered  that  the 
telegraph-posts  had  abandoned  us,  and  gone  off  along 
another  road. 

I  stopped  the  horses.  To  miss  one's  way  in  the  wilds  of 
Westmoreland  on  such  a  night  was  no  joke. 

"  Now,  Bell,  what  has  become  of  your  knowledge  of  this 
district  ?  Must  we  go  back,  and  follow  the  telegraph-wires  ? 
Or  shall  we  push  on  on  chance  ?  " 

"  I  can  neither  see  nor  speak  for  the  rain,"  cries  Bell  out 
of  the  darkness.  "But  I  think  we  ought  to  follow  the 
telegraph-wires.  They  are  sure  to  lead  to  Kendal." 

"With  your  permission,  Mademoiselle,"  observes  the 
Lieutenant,  who  is  once  more  down  in  the  road,  "  I  think 
it  would  be  a  pity  to  go  back.  If  we  drive  on,  we  must 
come  to  a  village  somewhere." 

"  They  don't  happen  so  often  in  Westmoreland  as  you 
might  expect,"  says  Bell,  despondently. 

"  If  you  will  wait  here,  then,  I  will  go  forward,  and  see  if 
I  can  find  a  house,"  says  the  Lieutenant,  at  which  Queen 
Tita  laughs  again,  and  says  we  should  all  be  washed  away 
before  he  returned. 

The  Lieutenant  struggles  into  his  seat.  We  push  on 
blindly.  The  rain  is  still  thundering  down  on  us  ;  and  we 
wonder  whether  we  are  fated  to  find  ourselves  in  the  early 
dawn  somewhere  about  Wast  Water  or  Coniston. 

About  two  hours  before  midnight,  Columbus,  standing  on 
the  forecastle,  observed  a  light  at  a  distance,  and  privately 
pointed  it  out  to  Queen  Titania. 

"  'Tis  a  turnpike,  as  I  am  a  living  navigator  !  "  exclaimed 
the  adventurous  man. 

A  gun  would  have  been  fired  from  the  deck  of  the  Pinta 
to  announce  these  joyful  tidings,  only  that  the  rain  had 
washed  away  our  powder.  But  now  that  we  were  cheered 
with  the  sight  of  land,  we  pushed  ahead  gallantly  ;  the  light 
grew  in  size  and  intensity ;  there  could  be  no  doubt  this 
wild  region  was  inhabited  by  human  beings  ;  and  at  last  a 
native  appeared,  who  addressed  us  in  a  tongue  which  we 


262  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

managed  with  some  difficulty  to  understand,  and,  having 
exacted  from  us  a  small  tribute,  he  allowed  us  to  proceed. 

Once  more  we  plunge  into  darkness  and  wet,  but  we  know 
that  Kendal  is  near.  Just  as  we  are  approaching  the  foot 
of  the  hill,  however,  on  which  the  town  stands,  a  wild  shriek 
from  Titania  startles  the  air.  The  black  shadow  of  a  dog- 
cart is  seen  to  swerve  across  in  front  of  the  horses'  heads, 
and  just  skims  by  our  wheels.  The  wrath  that  dwelt  in  my 
Lady's  heart  with  regard  to  the  two  men  in  this  phantom 
vehicle  need  not  be  expressed  ;  for  what  with  the  darkness 
of  the  trees,  the  roaring  of  the  wind  and  rain,  and  the 
fact  of  these  two  travellers  coming  at  a  fine  pace  along  the 
wrong  side  of  the  road,  we  just  escaped  a  catastrophe. 

But  we  survived  that  danger,  too,  as  we  survived  the 
strife  of  the  elements.  We  drove  up  into  the  town.  We 
wheeled  round  by  the  archway  of  still  another  King's  Arms  ; 
and  presently  a  half-drowned  party  of  people — with  their 
eyes,  long  grown  accustomed  to  the  gloom,  now  wholly 
bewildered  with  the  light — were  standing  in  the  warm  and 
yellow  glare  of  the  hotel.  There  was  a  fluttering  of  dripping 
waterproofs,  a  pulling  asunder  of  soaked  plaids,  and  a  drying 
of  wet  and  gleaming  cheeks  that  were  red  with  the  rain. 
The  commotion  raised  by  our  entrance  was  alarming.  You 
would  have  thought  we  had  taken  possession  of  this  big, 
warm,  comfortable,  old-fashioned  inn.  A  thousand  servants 
seemed  to  be  scampering  about  the  house  to  assist  us  ;  and 
by  and  by,  when  all  those  moist  garments  had  been  taken 
away,  and  other  and  warmer  clothing  put  on,  and  a  steam- 
ing and  fragrant  banquet  placed  on  the  table,  you  should 
have  seen  the  satisfaction  that  dwelt  on  every  face. 
Arthur  had  not  come — at  least,  no  one  had  been  making 
inquiries  for  us. 

So  there  was  nothing  now  but  to  attack  the  savoury  feast, 
and  relate  with  laughter  and  with  gladness  all  the  adventures 
of  the  day,  until  you  might  have  suspected  that  the  grave 
mother  of  those  two  boys  at  Twickenham  had  grown  merry 
with  the  champagne,  whereas  she  had  not  yet  tasted  the 
wine  that  was  frothing  and  creaming  in  her  glass. 


OF  A  PHAETON.  263 


CHAPTER  XXL 

ALL  ABOUT   WINDEEMERE. 

"O  meekest  dove 

Of  Heaven  I    O  Cynthia,  ten-times  bright  and  fair  1 
From  thy  blue  throne,  now  filling  all  the  air,] 
Glance  but  one  little  beam  of  tempered  light 
Into  my  bosom,  that  the  dreadful  might 
And  tyranny  of  love  be  somewhat  scared." 

IT  is  a  pleasant  thing,  especially  in  holiday-time,  when 
one  happens  to  have  gone  to  bed  with  the  depressing 
consciousness  that  outside  the  house  the  night  is  wild  and 
stormy — rain  pouring  ceaselessly  down  and  the  fine  weather 
sped  away  to  the  south — to  catch  a  sudden  glimmer,  just  as 
one  opens  one's  eyes  in  the  morning,  of  glowing  green, 
where  the  sunlight  is  quivering  on  the  waving  branches 
of  the  trees.  The  new  day  is  a  miracle  of  freshness.  The 
rain  has  washed  the  leaves  ;  and  the  wind  is  shaking  and 
rustling  them  in  the  warm  radiance.  You  throw  open  the 
window,  and  the  breeze  that  comes  blowing  in  is  sweet  with 
the  smell  of  wet  roses.  It  is  a  new,  bright,  joyous  day ; 
and  the  rain  and  the  black  night  have  fled  together.  ' 

Bell's  audacity  in  daring  to  hope  we  might  have  a  fine 
morning  after  that  wild  evening  had  almost  destroyed  our 
belief  in  her  weather  foresight ;  but  sure  enough,  when  we 
got  up  on  the  following  day,  the  stone  houses  of  Kendal 
were  shining  in  the  sun ;  and  there  was  a  fine  colour  in 
the  faces  of  the  country  people  who  had  come  into  the 
town  on  early  business.  And  what  was  this  we  heard  ? — a 
simple  and  familiar  air  that  carried  Tita  back  to  the  small 
church  in  Surrey  over  which  she  presides — sung  carelessly 
and  lightly  by  a  young  lady  who  certainly  did  not  know 
that  she  could  be  overheard — • 

"  Hark,  hark,  my  soul,  angelic  songs  are  swelling 
O'er  earth's  green  fields  and  ocean's  wave-beat  shore." 

— Bell  was  at  her  orisons  ;  but  as  the  hymn  only  came  to 
us  in  fitful  and  uncertain  snatches,  we  concluded  that  the 
intervals  were  filled  up  by  that  light-hearted  young  woman 
twisting  up  the  splendid  folds  of  her  hair.  There  was  no 


264  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

great  religious  fervour  in  her  singing,  to  be  sure.  Some- 
times the  careless  songstress  forgot  to  add  the  words,  and 
let  us  have  fragments  of  the  pretty  air,  of  which  she  was 
particularly  fond.  But  there  was  no  reason  at  all  why  this 
pious  hymn  should  be  suddenly  forsaken  for  the  "  rataplan, 
rataplan,  rataplan — rataplan,  plan, plan, plan, plan"  of  the 
"  Daughter  of  the  Eegiment." 

When  we  went  down  stairs,  Bell  was  gravely  perusing  the 
morning  papers.  At  this  time  the  Government  were  hurry- 
ing their  Ballot  Bill  through  the  House  ;  and  the  daily 
journals  were  full  of  clauses,  amendments,  and  divisions. 
Bell  wore  rather  a  puzzled  look  ;  but  she  was  so  deeply 
interested — whether  with  the  Parliamentary  Summary  or 
the  Fashionable  Intelligence,  can  only  be  guessed — that  she 
did  not  observe  our  entering  the  room.  My  Lady  went 
gently  forward  to  her,  and  said — • 

"Hark,  hark,  my  soul,  angelic  songs  are  swelling 
O'er  earth's  green  fields " 

The  girl  looked  up  with  a  start,  and  with  a  little  look  of 
alarm. 

"  Young  ladies,"  observed  Tita,  "  who  have  a  habit  of 
humming  airs  during  their  toilet,  ought  to  be  sure  that 
there  is  something  more  than  a  very  thin  partition  between 
their  room  and  the  next  one." 

"  If  it  was  only  you,  I  don't  care." 

"  It  mightn't  have  been  only  me." 

"  There  is  no  great  harm  in  a  hymn,"  says  Bell. 

"  But  when  one  mixes  up  a  hymn  with  that  wicked  song 
which  Maria  and  the  Sergeant  sing  together  ?  Bell,  we 
will  forgive  you  everything  this  morning.  You  are  quite 
a  witch  with  the  weather,  and  you  shall  have  a  kiss  for 
bringing  us  such  a  beautiful  day." 

The  morning  salutation  is  performed. 

"  Isn't  there  enough  of  that  to  go  round  ? "  says  the 
third  person  of  the  group.  "  Bell  used  to  kiss  me  dutifully 
every  morning.  But  a  French  writer  has  described  a  young 
lady  as  a  creature  that  ceases  to  kiss  gentlemen  at  twelve 
and  begins  again  at  twenty." 

"  A  French  writer  !  "  says  Tita.  "  No  French  writer 
ever  said  anything  so  impertinent  and  so  stupid.  The 


OF  A  PHAETON.  265 

French  are  a  cultivated  nation,  and  their  wit  never  takes 
the  form  of  rudeness." 

A  nation  or  a  man — it  is  all  the  same  :  attack  either, 
and  my  Lady  is  ready  with  a  sort  of  formal  warranty  of 
character. 

"  But  why,  Tita,"  says  Bell,  with  just  a  trifle  of  protest 
in  her  voice,  "  why  do  you  always  praise  the  French  nation  ? 
Other  nations  are  as  good  as  they  are." 

The  laughter  that  shook  the  coffee-room  of  the  King's 
Arms  in  Kendal,  when  this  startling  announcement  was 
made  to  us  cannot  be  conveyed  in  words.  There  was 
something  so  boldly  ingenuous  in  Bell's  protest  that  even 
Tita  laughed  till  the  tears  stood  in  her  eyes,  and  then  she 
kissed  Bell,  and  asked  her  pardon,  and  remarked  that  she 
was  ready  to  acknowledge  at  any  moment  that  the  German 
nation  was  as  good  as  the  French  nation. 

"  I  did  not  mean  anything  of  the  kind,"  said  Bell,  looking 
rather  shamefaced.  "What  does  it  matter  to  me  what 
anyone  thinks  of  the  German  nation  ?  " 

That  was  a  true  observation,  at  least.  It  did  not  matter 
to  her,  nor  to  anybody.  The  anthropomorphic  abstractions 
which  we  call  nations  are  very  good  pegs  to  hang  prejudices 
on ;  but  they  do  not  suffer  or  gain  much  by  any  opinion 
we  may  form  of  their  "  characteristics." 

"  Where  is  Count  von  Eosen  ?  "  asked  Queen  Tita. 

"  I  do  not  know,"  answered  Bell,  with  an  excellent 
assumption  of  indifference.  "I  have  not  seen  him  this 
morning.  Probably  he  will  come  in  and  tell  us  that  he  has 
been  to  Windermere." 

"  No,  Mademoiselle,"  said  the  Lieutenant,  entering  the 
room  at  the  same  moment,  "  I  have  not  been  to  Windermere, 
but  I  am  very,  anxious  to  go,  for  the  morning  is  very  fresh 
and  good,  and  is  it  possible  to  say  that  it  will  remain  fine 
all  the  day  ?  We  should  start  directly  after  breakfast.  I 
have  looked  at  the  horses  ;  they  are  all  very  well,  and  have 
suffered  nothing  from  the  rain  ;  they  are  looking  contented 
and  comfortable  after  the  bran-mash  of  last  night ;  and  to- 
morrow they  will  start  again  very  well." 

"  And  you  have  heard  nothing  of  Arthur  ?  "  continued 
my  Lady. 

"  No." 


266  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

Was  the  Lieutenant  likely  to  have  been  scouring  the 
country  in  search  of  that  young  man  ? 

"  It  is  very  strange.  If  he  found  himself  unable  to  get 
here  by  the  time  he  expected  to  meet  us,  it  is  a  wonder  he 
did  not  send  on  a  message.  I  hope  he  has  met  with  no 
accident." 

"  No,  there  is  no  fear,  Madame,"  said  the  Lieutenant ; 
"  he  will  overtake  us  soon.  He  may  arrive  to-night,  or  to- 
morrow before  we  go — he  cannot  make  a  mistake  about 
finding  us.  But  you  do  not  propose  to  wait  anywhere  for 
him  ?  " 

"  No,"  I  say,  decisively,  "  we  don't.  Or  if  we  do  wait 
for  him,  it  will  not  be  in  Kendal." 

The  Lieutenant  seemed  to  think  that  Arthur  would  over- 
take us  soon  enough  ;  and  need  not  further  concern  us. 
But  my  Lady  appeared  to  be  a  little  anxious  about  the  safety 
of  the  young  man  until  it  was  shown  us  that,  after  all, 
Arthur  might  have  been  moved  to  give  the  Major's  cob  a 
day's  rest  somewhere,  in  which  case  he  could  not.  possibly 
have  reached  Kendal  by  this  time. 

We  go  out  into  the  sunlit  and  breezy  street.  We  can 
almost  believe  Bell  that  there  is  a  peculiar  sweetness  in  the 
Westmoreland  air.  We  lounge  about  the  quaint  old  town, 
which,  perched  on  the  steep  slope  of  a  hill,  has  sometimes 
those  curious  juxtapositions  of  door-step  and  chimney-pot 
which  are  familiar  to  the  successive  terraces  of  Dartmouth. 
We  go  down  to  the  green  banks  of  the  river  ;  and  the 
Lieutenant  is  bidden  to  observe  how  rapid  and  clear  the 
brown  stream  is,  even  after  coming  through  the  dyeing  and 
bleaching  works.  He  is  walking  on  in  front  with  Bell. 
He  does  not  strive  to  avoid  her  now  ;  on  the  contrary,  they 
are  inseparable  companions ;  but  my  Lady  puzzles  herself 
in  vain  to  discover  what  are  their  actual  relations  towards 
each  other  at  this  time.  They  do  not  seem  anxious  or 
dissatisfied.  They  appear  to  have  drifted  back  into  those 
ordinary  friendly  terms  of  intercourse  which  had  marked 
their  setting  out ;  but  how  is  this  possible  after  what 
occurred  in  Whales  ?  As  neither  has  said  anything  to  us 
about  these  things,  nothing  is  known ;  these  confidences 
have  been  invariably  voluntary  ;  and  Queen  Tita  is  quite 
well  pleased  that  Bell  should  manage  her  own  affairs. 


OF  A  PHAETON.  267 

Certainly,  if  Bell  was  at  this  time  being  pressed  to 
decide  between  von  Rosen  and  Arthur,  that  hapless  lad 
from  Twickenham  was  suffering  grievously  from  an  evil 
fortune.  Consider  what  advantages  the  Lieutenant  had  in 
accompanying  the  girl  into  this  dreamland  of  her  youth, 
when  her  heart  was  opening  out  to  all  sorts  of  tender 
recollections,  and  when,  to  confer  a  great  gratification  upon 
her,  you  had  only  to  say  that  you  were  pleased  with 
Westmoreland,  and  its  sunlight,  and  its  people,  and  scenery. 
What  adjectives  that  perfervid  Uhlan  may  have  been  using 
— and  he  was  rather  a  good  hand  at  expressing  his  satisfac- 
tion with  anything — we  did  not  try  to  hear  ;  but  Bell  wore 
her  brightest  and  happiest  looks.  Doubtless  the  Lieutenant 
was  telling  her  there  was  no  water  in  the  world  that  could 
turn  out  such  brilliant  colours  as  those  we  saw  bleaching  on 
the  meadows— that  no  river  in  the  world  ran  half  as  fast 
as  the  Kent — and  that  no  light  could  compare  with  the 
light  of  a  Westmoreland  sky  in  beautifying  and  clarifying  the 
varied  hues  of  the  landscape  that  lay  around.  He  was 
greatly  surprised  with  the  old-fashioned  streets  when  we  had 
clambered  up  to  the  town  again.  He  paid  particular 
attention  to  the  railway  station.  When  a  porter  caught  a 
boy  back  from  the  edge  of  the  platform  and  angrily  said  to 
him,  "  Wut's  thee  doin'  theear,  an'  the  traain  a  coomin'  oop  ?  " 
he  made  as  though  he  understood  the  man.  This  was  Bell's 
country  ;  and  everything  in  it  was  profoundly  interesting. 

"However,  when  the  train  had  once  got  away  from  the 
station,  and  we  found  ourselves  being  carried  through  the 
fresh  and  pleasant  landscape — with  a  cool  wind  blowing 
in  at  the  window,  and  all  the  foliage  outside  bending  and 
rustling  in  the  breeze — it  was  not  merely  out  of  compliment 
to  Bell  that  he  praised  the  brightness  of  the  day  and  the 
beauty  of  the  country  around. 

"  And  it  is  so  comforting  to  think  of  the  horses  enjoying 
a  day's  thorough  rest,"  said  Tita ;  "  for  when  we  start 
again  to-morrow,  they  will  have  to  attack  some  hard  work." 

"  Only  at  first,"  said  Bell,  who  was  proud  of  her  local 
knowledge.  "  The  first  mile  or  so  is  hilly  ;  but  after  that 
the  road  goes  down  to  Windermere  and  runs  along  by 
the  lake  to  Ambleside.  It  is  a  beautiful  drive  through 
the  trees  ;  and  if  we  get  a  day  like  this " 


268  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

No  wonder  she  turned  to  look  out  with  pride  and  delight 
on  the  glowing  picture  that  lay  around  us — the  background 
of  which  had  glimpses  of  blue  mountains  lying  pale  and 
misty  under  light  masses  of  cloud.  The  small  stations  we 
passed  were  smothered  in  green  foliage.  Here  and  there  we 
caught  sight  of  a  brown  rivulet,  or  a  long  avenue  of  trees 
arching  over  a  white  road.  And  then,  in  an  incredibly 
short  space  of  time,  we  found  ourselves  outside  the 
Windermere  station,  standing  in  the  open  glare  of  the  day. 
For  an  instant,  a  look  of  bewilderment,  and  even  of 
disappointment,  appeared  on  the  girl's  face.  Evidently, 
she  did  not  know  the  way.  The  houses  that  had  sprung 
up  of  late  years  were  strangers  to  her — strangers  that 
seemed  to  have  no  business  there.  But  whereas  the  new 
buildings,  and  the  cutting  of  terraces,  and  alterations  of 
gardens,  were  novel  and  perplexing  phenomena,  the  general 
features  of  the  neighbourhood  remained  the  same  ;  and 
after  a  momentary  hesitation  she  hit  upon  the  right  path 
up  to  Elleray  ;  and  thereafter  was  quite  at  home. 

Now  there  rests  in  Bell's  mind  a  strange  superstition 
that  she  can  remember,  as  a  child,  having  sat  upon 
Christopher  North's  knee.  The  story  is  wholly  impossible 
and  absurd  ;  for  Wilson  died  in  the  year  in  which  Bell  was 
born  ;  but  she  nevertheless  preserves  the  fixed  impression  of 
having  seen  the  kingly  old  man,  and  wondered  at  his  long 
hair  and  great  collar,  and  listened  jSjp  his  talking  to  her. 
Out  of  what  circumstance  in  her  childhood  this  curious 
belief  may  have  arisen  is  a  psychological  conundrum  which 
Tita  and  I  have  long  ago  given  up  ;  and  Bell  herself 
cannot  even  suggest  any  other  celebrated  person  of  the 
neighbourhood  who  may,  in  her  infancy,  have  produced  a 
profound  impression  on  her  imagination  and  caused  her  to 
construct  a  confused  picture  into  which  the  noble  figure  of 
the  old  Professor  had  somehow  and  subsequently  been 
introduced  ;  but  none  the  less  she  asks  us  how  it  is  that  she 
can  remember  exactly  the  expression  of  his  face  and  eyes  as 
he  looked  down  on  her,  and  how  even  to  this  day  she  can 
recall  the  sense  of  awe  with  which  she  regarded  him,  even 
as  he  was  trying  to  amuse  her. 

The  Lieutenant  knew  all  about  this  story  ;  and  it  was 
with  a  great  interest  that  he  went  up  to  Elleray  Cottage, 


OF  A  PHAETON.  269 

and  saw  the  famous  chestnut  which  Christopher  North  has 
talked  of  to  the  world.  It  was  as  if  some  relative  of  Bell's 
had  lived  in  this  place — some  foster-father  or  grand-uncle 
who  had  watched  her  youth ;  and  who  does  not  know  the 
strange  curiosity  with  which  a  lover  listens  to  stories  of  the 
childhood  of  his  sweetheart,  or  meets  anyone  who  knew  her 
in  those  old  and  half -forgotten  years  ?  It  seems  a  wonder- 
ful thing  to  him  that  he  should  not  have  known  her  then — 
that  all  the  world  at  that  time,  so  far  as  he  knew,  was 
unconscious  of  her  magical  presence  ;  and  he  seeks  to  make 
himself  familiar  with  her  earliest  years,  to  nurse  the 
delusion  that  he  has  known  her  always,  and  that  ever  since 
her  entrance  into  the  world  she  has  belonged  to  him.  In 
like  manner,  let  two  lovers,  who  have  known  each  other  for 
a  number  of  years,  begin  to  reveal  to  each  other  when  the 
first  notion  of  love  entered  their  mind  ;  they  will  insensibly 
shift  the  date  further  and  further  back ;  as  if  they  would 
blot  out  the  pallid  and  colourless  time  in  which  they  were 
stupid  enough  not  to  have  found  out  their  great  affection 
for  each  other.  The  Lieutenant  was  quite  vexed  that  he 
knew  little  of  Professor  Wilson's  works.  He  said  he  would 
get  them  all  the  moment  that  he  went  back  to  London  ; 
and  when  Bell,  as  we  lingered  about  the  grounds  of  Elleray, 
told  him  how  that  there  was  a  great  deal  of  Scotch  in  the 
books  ;  and  how  the  old  man  whom  she  vaguely  recollected 
had  written  about  Scotland  ;  and  how  that  she  had  about  as 
great  a  longing — when  she  was  buried  awray  down  south  in 
the  commonplaceness  of  London  and  Surrey — to  smell  the 
heather  and  see  the  lonely  glens  and  the  far-reaching  sea- 
lochs  of  the  Highlands,  as  to  reach  her  own.  and  native 
Westmoreland,  the  Lieutenant  began  to  nurture  a  secret 
and  profound  affection  for  Scotland,  all  because  of  that 
mysterious  sympathy. 

I  cannot  describe  in  minute  detail  our  day's  ramble 
about  Windermere.  It  was  like  a  dream  to  us.  Many  years 
had  come  and  gone  since  those  of  us  who  were  familiar 
with  the  place  had  been  there ;  and  somehow,  half 
unconsciously  to  ourselves,  we  kept  trying  to  get  away 
from  the  sight  of  new  people  and  new  houses,  and  to 
discover  the  old  familiar  features  of  the  neighbourhood  that 
we  had  loved,  Once  or  twice  there  was  in  Tita's  eyes  a 


270  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

moisture  she  could  scarce  conceal ;  and  the  light  of  gladness 
on  Bell's  bright  face  was  preserved  there  chiefly  through  her 
efforts  to  instruct  the  Lieutenant,  which  made  her  forget 
old  memories.  She  was  happy,  too,  in  hitting  on  the  old 
paths.  When  we  went  down  from  Elleray  through  the 
private  grounds  that  lie  along  the  side  of  the  hill,  she 
found  no  difficulty  whatever  in  showing  us  how  we  were  to 
get  to  the  lake.  She  took  us  through  a  close  and  sweet- 
smelling  wood,  where  the  sunlight  only  struggled  at 
intervals  between  the  innumerable  stems  and  leaves,  and 
lit  up  the  brackens,  and  other  ferns,  and  underwood.  There 
was  a  stream  running  close  by,  that  plashed  and  gurgled 
along  its  stony  channel.  As  we  got  further  down  the  slope, 
the  darkness  of  the  avenue  increased  ;  and  then  all  at  once, 
at  the  end  of  the  trees,  we  came  in  sight  of  a  blinding  glare 
of  white — the  level  waters  of  the  lake. 

Then,  when  we  left  the  wood  and  stood  on  the  shore, 
all  the  fair  plain  of  Windermere  lay  before  us — wind-swept 
and  troubled,  with  great  dashes  of  blue  along  its  surface, 
and  a  breezy  sky  moving  overhead.  Near  at  hand,  there 
were  low-lying  hills,  shining  in  the  sun  ;  and,  further 
off,  long  and  narrow  promontories,  piercing  out  into  the 
water,  with  their  dark  line  of  trees  growing  almost  black 
against  the  silver  sheen  of  the  lake.  But  then  again  the 
hurrying  wind  would  blow  away  the  shadow  of  the  cloud  ;  a 
beam  of  sunlight  would  run  along  the  trees,  making  them 
glow  green  above  the  blue  of  the  water  ;  and  from  this 
moving  and  shifting  and  shining  picture  we  turned  to  the 
far  and  ethereal  masses  of  the  Langdale  Pikes  and  the 
mountains  above  Ambleside,  which  changed  as  the  changing 
clouds  were  swept  over  from  the  west. 

We  got  a  boat  and  went  out  into  the  wilderness  of  water 
and  wind  and  sky.  Now  we  saw  the  reedy  shores  behind 
us,  and  the  clear  and  shallow  water  at  the  brink  of  which 
we  had  been  standing,  receiving  the  troubled  reflection  of 
the  woods.  Out  here  the  beautiful  islands  of  Lady  Holm, 
Thompson's  Holm,  and  Belle  Isle  were  shimmering  in 
green.  Far  up  there  in  the  north  the  slopes  and  gullies  of 
the  great  mountains  were  showing  a  thousand  hues  of  soft 
velvet-like  greys  and  blues,  and  even  warming  up  into  a 
pale  saffron-yellow,  where  a  ray  of  the  sunlight  struck  the 


OF  A  PHAETON.  271 

lower  slopes.  Over  by  Furness  Fells  the  clouds  lay  in 
heavier  masses,  and  moved  more  slowly ;  but  elsewhere 
there  was  a  brisk  motion  across  the  lake,  that  changed  its 
beauties  even  as  one  looked  at  them. 

"  Mademoiselle,"  observed  the  Lieutenant,  as  if  a  new 
revelation  had  broken  upon  him,  "  all  that  you  have  said 
about  your  native  county  is  true ;  and  now  I  understand 
why  that  you  did  weary  in  London,  and  think  very  much 
of  your  own  home." 

Perhaps  he  thought,  too,  that  there  was  but  one  county 
in  England,  or  in  the  world,  that  could  have  produced  this 
handsome,  courageous,  generous,  and  true-hearted  English 
girl — for  such  are  the  exaggerations  that  lovers  cherish. 

We  put  into  Bowness,  and  went  up  to  the  Crown  Hotel 
there.  In  an  instant — as  rapidly  as  Alloway  Kirk  became 
dark  when  Tarn  o'  Shanter  called  out — the  whole  romance 
of  the  day  went  clean  out  and  was  extinguished.  How  any 
of  God's  creatures  could  have  come  to  dress  themselves  in 
such  fashion,  amid  such  scenery,  our  young  Uhlan  professed 
himself  unable  to  tell ;  but  here  were  men — apparently  in 
their  proper  senses — wearing  such  extravagances  of  jackets 
and  resplendent  knickerbockers  as  would  have  made  a 
harlequin  blush,  with  young  ladies  tarred  and  feathered,  as 
it  were,  with  staring  stripes,  and  alarming  petticoats,  and 
sailors'  hats  of  straw.  Why  should  the  borders  of  a  lake 
be  provocative  of  these  mad  eccentricities  ?  Who  that  has 
wandered  about  the  neighbourhoods  of  Zurich,  Lucerne, 
and  Thun,  does  not  know  the  wild  freaks  which  English- 
men (far  more  than  Englishwomen)  will  permit  to  them- 
selves in  dress  ?  We  should  have  fancied  those  gentlemen 
with  the  variegated  knickerbockers  had  just  come  down 
from  the  Righi  (by  rail)  if  they  had  had  Alpenstocks  and 
snow-spectacles  with  them  ;  and,  indeed,  it  was  a  matter 
for  surprise  that  these  familiar  appurtenances  were  absent 
from  the  shores  of  Windermere. 

Queen  Tita  looked  at  the  strange  people  rather  askance. 

"  My  dear,"  says  Bell,  in  an  undertone,  "  do  not  be 
afraid  :  they  are  quite  harmless." 

We  had  luncheon  in  a  corner  of  the  great  room. 
Dinner  was  already  laid ;  and  our  simple  meal  seemed  to 
borrow  a  certain  richness  from  that  long  array  of  coloured 


272  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

wine-glasses.  Bell  considered  it  rather  pretty ;  but  my 
Lady  began  to  wonder  how  much  crystal  the  servants 
would  have  broken  by  the  time  we  got  back  to  Surrey. 
Then  we  went  down  to  the  lake  again,  stepped  into  a  small 
steamer,  and  stood  out  to  sea. 

It  was  now  well  on  in  the  afternoon  ;  and  the  masses  of 
cloud  that  came  rolling  over  from  the  west  and  south-west, 
when  they  clung  to  the  summits  of  the  mountains,  threw  a 
deeper  shadow  on  the  landscape  beneath.  Here  and  there, 
too,  as  the  evening  wore  on  and  we  had  steamed  up  within 
sight  of  the  small  island  that  is  called  Seamew  Crag,  we 
occasionally  saw  one  of  the  great  heaps  of  vapour  get  melted 
down  into  a  grey  mist  that  for  a  few  minutes  blotted  out 
the  side  of  a  mountain.  Meanwhile  the  sun  had  also  got 
well  up  to  the  north-west ;  and  as  the  clouds  came  over 
and  swept  about  the  peaks  of  Langdale,  a  succession  of  the 
wildest  atmospheric  effects  became  visible.  Sometimes  a 
sombre  gloom  would  overspread  the  whole  landscape,  and 
we  began  to  anticipate  a  night  of  rain  ;  then  a  curious 
saffron  glow  would  appear  behind  the  clouds  ;  then  a  great 
smoke  of  grey  would  be  seen  to  creep  along ;  and  finally 
the  sunlight  would  break  through,  shining  on  the  retreating 
vapour  and  on  the  wet  sides  of  the  hills.  Once  or  twice  a 
light  trail  passed  across  the  lake  and  threw  a  slight 
shower  of  rain  over  us  ;  but  when  we  got  to  Ainbleside,  the 
clouds  had  been  for  the  most  part  driven  by  ;  and  the  clear 
heavens — irradiated  by  a  beautiful  twilight — tempted  us  to 
walk  back  to  Windermere  village  by  the  road. 

You  may  suppose  that  that  was  a  pleasant  walk  for  those 
two  young  folks.  Everything  had  conspired  to  please  Bell 
during  the  day,  and  she  was  in  a  dangerously  amiable 
mood.  As  the  dusk  fell,  and  the  white  water  gleamed 
through  the  trees  by  the  margin  of  the  lake,  we  strolled 
along  the  winding  road  without  meeting  a  solitary  creature  ; 
and  Queen  Titania  gently  let  our  young  friends  get  on 
ahead,  so  that  we  could  only  see  the  two  figures  pass  under- 
neath the  dark  avenues  of  trees. 

"  Did  you  ever  see  a  girl  more  happy  ?  "  she  says. 

"  Yes,  once — at  Eastbourne." 

Tita  laughs,  in  a  low,  pleased  fashion ;  for  she  is  never 
averse  to  recalling  these  old  days, 


OF  A  PHAETON.  273 

"  I  Was  very  stupid  then,"  she  says. 

That  is  a  matter  upon  which  she,  of  course,  ought  to  be 
able  to  speak.  It  would  be  unbecoming  to  interfere  with 
the  right  of  private  judgment. 

"  Besides,"  she  remarks,  audaciously,  "  I  did  not  mean 
half  what  I  said.  Don't  you  imagine  I  meant  half  what  I 
said.  It  was  all  making  fun,  you  know,  wasn't  it  ?  " 

"  It  has  been  deadly  earnest  since." 

"  Poor  thing ! "  she  says,  in  the  most  sympathetic 
manner  ;  and  there  is  no  saying  what  fatal  thunderbolt  she 
might  have  launched,  had  not  her  attention  been  called  away 
just  then. 

For  as  we  went  along  in  the  twilight  it  seemed  to  us 
that  the  old  moss-covered  wall  was  beginning  to  throw  a 
slight  shadow,  and  that  the  pale  road  was  growing  warmer 
in  hue.  Moved  by  the  same  impulse,  we  turned  suddenly 
to  the  lake,  and  lo  !  out  there  beyond  the  trees  a  tremulous 
yellow  glory  was  lying  on  the  bosom  of  "Windermere  ;  and 
we  guessed  that  somewhere — hidden  by  the  dark  branches 
— the  low  moon  had  come  into  the  clear  violet  sky.  We 
walked  on  until  we  came  to  a  clearance  in  the  trees ;  and 
there  was  the  golden  crescent  shining  serene  in  the  heavens, 
the  purple  of  which  was  suffused  by  the  soft  glow.  It  was 
a  wonderful  twilight.  The  ripples  that  broke  in  among  the 
reeds  down  at  the  shore  quivered  in  lines  of  gold ;  and  a 
little  bit  further  out  a  small  boat  lay  black  as  night  in  the 
path  of  the  moonlight.  The  shadow  cast  by  the  wall  grew 
stronger ;  and  now  the  trees,  too,  threw  black  bars  on  to 
the  yellow  road.  The  two  lovers  paid  no  heed  to  these 
things  for  a  long  time — they  wandered  on,  engrossed  in 
talk.  But  at  length  we  saw  them  stop  and  turn  towards 
the  lake  ;  while  Bell  looked  back  towards  us,  with  her  figure 
getting  a  faint  touch  of  the  radiance  coming  over  from  the 
south. 

All  the  jesting  had  gone  out  of  Bell's  face.  She  was  as 
grave,  and  gentle,  and  thoughtful — when  we  reached  the 
two  of  them — as  Undine  was  on  the  day  after  her  marriage  ; 
and  insensibly  she  drew  near  to  Tita,  and  took  her  away 
from  us,  and  left  the  Lieutenant  and  myself  to  follow. 
That  young  gentleman  was  as  solemn  as  though  he  had 
swallowed  the  Longer  Catechism  and  the  Westminster 

T 


274  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

Confession  of  Faith.  He  admitted  that  it  was  a  beautiful 
evening.  He  made  a  remark  about  the  scenery  of  the 
district  which  would  have  served  admirably  as  a  motto  for 
one  of  those  views  that  stationers  put  at  the  head  of  their 
note-paper.  And  then,  with  some  abruptness,  he  asked 
what  we  should  do  if  Arthur  did  not  arrive  in  Kendal  that 
night  or  next  day. 

"  If  Arthur  does  not  come  to-night,  we  shall  probably 
have  some  dinner  at  the  King's  Arms.  If  he  does  not 
come  in  the  morning,  we  may  be  permitted  to  take  some 
breakfast.  And  then,  if  his  staying  away  does  not  alter  the 
position  of  Windermere,  we  shall  most  likely  drive  along 
this  very  road  to-morrow  forenoon.  But  why  this  solemn 
importance  conferred  on  Arthur  all  of  a  sudden  ?  " 

"  Oh,  I  cannot  tell  you." 

"  Nobody  asked  you." 

"  But  I  will  give  you  a  very  good  cigar,  my  dear  friend." 

"  That  is  a  great  deal  better — only  let  it  be  old  and  dry." 

And  so  we  got  back  to  Windermere  station  and  took 
train  to  Kendal.  By  the  time  we  were  walking  up  through 
the  streets  of  the  old  town  the  moon  had  grown  clearer, 
and  its  light,  now  pale  and  silvery,  was  shining  along  the 
fronts  of  the  houses. 

We  go  into  the  inn.  No  message  from  Arthur.  A 
little  flutter  of  dismay  disturbs  the  women,  until  the  folly 
of  imagining  all  manner  of  accidents — merely  because  an 
erratic  young  man  takes  a  day  longer  to  drive  to  Kendal 
than  they  anticipated — is  pointed  out  to  them.  Then 
dinner  ;  and  Bell  appears  in  her  prettiest  dress,  so  that  even 
Tita,  when  she  conies  into  the  room,  kisses  her,  as  if  the 
girl  had  performed  a  specially  virtuous  action  in  merely 
choosing  out  of  a  milliner's  shop  a  suitable  colour. 

[Note  l>y  Queen  Titania. — "  I  hope  I  am  revealing  no  secrets ;  but  it 
would  be  a  great  pity  if  anyone  thought  that  Bell  was  heartless,  or 
indifferent,  a  mistake  that  might  occur  when  she  is  written  about  by 
one  who  makes  a  jest  about  the  most  serious  moments  in  one's  life. 
Now  it  was  quite  pitiable  to  see  how  the  poor  girl  was  troubled  as  we 
walked  home  that  night  by  the  side  of  Windermere.  She  as  good  as 
confessed  to  me — not  in  words,  you  know,  for  between  women  tho 
least  hint  is  quite  sufficient,  and  saves  a  great  deal  of  embarrassment 
— that  she  very  much  liked  the  Lieutenant,  and  admired  his  character  ; 
and  that  she  was  extremely  vexed  and  sorry  that  she  had  been 


OF  A  PHAETON.  275 

compelled  to  refuse  him  when  he  proposed  to  her.  She  told  me,  too, 
that  he  had  pressed  her  not  to  make  that  decision  final ;  and  that  she 
had  admitted  to  him  that  it  was  really  against  her  own  wish  that  she 
had  done  so.  But  then  she  put  it  to  me,  as  she  had  put  it  to  him, 
what  she  would  think  of  herself  if  she  went  and  betrayed  Arthur  in 
this  way.  Eeally,  I  could  not  see  any  betrayal  in  the  matter ;  and  I 
asked  her  whether  it  would  be  fair  to  Arthur  to  marry  him  while  she 
secretly  would  have  preferred  to  marry  another.  She  said  she  would 
try  all  in  her  power  not  to  marry  Arthur,  if  only  he  would  be  reconciled 
to  her  breaking  with  him  ;  but  then  she  immediately  added,  with  an 
earnestness  that  I  thought  very  pathetic,  that  if  she  treated  Arthur 
badly,  any  other  man  might  fairly  expect  her  to  treat  him  badly  too ; 
and  if  she  could  not  satisfy  herself  that  she  had  acted  rightly  through- 
out, she  would  not  marry  at  all.  It  is  a  great  pity  I  cannot  show  the 
readers  of  these  few  lines  our  pretty  Bell's  photograph,  or  they  would 
see  the  downright  absurdity  of  such  a  resolve  as  that.  To  think  of  a 
girl  like  her  not  marrying  is  simply  out  of  the  question;  but  the 
danger  at  this  moment  was  that,  in  one  of  these  foolish  fits  of  deter- 
mination, she  would  send  the  Lieutenant  away  altogether.  Then  I 
think  there  might  be  a  chance  of  her  not  marrying  at  all ;  for  I  am 
greatly  mistaken  if  she  does  not  care  a  good  deal  more  for  him  than 
she  will  acknowledge.  I  advised  her  to  tell  Arthur  frankly  how 
matters  stand ;  but  she  seems  afraid.  Under  any  circumstances,  he 
will  be  sure  to  discover  the  truth ;  and  then  it  will  be  far  worse  for 
him  than  if  she  made  a  full  confession  just  now,  and  got  rid  of  all 
these  perplexities  and  entanglements,  which  ought  not  to  be  throwing 
a  cloud  over  a  young  face."] 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

ON  CAVIARE  AND   OTHER  MATTERS. 

u  At  the  inn  where  we  stopped  he  was  exceedingly  dissatisfied  with 
some  roast  mutton  which  he  had  for  dinner.  The  ladies,  I  saw, 
wondered  to  see  the  great  philosopher,  whose  wisdom  and  wit 
they  had  been  admiring  all  the  way,  get  into  ill-humour  from 
such  a  cause." 

"  THERE  is  no  Paradise  without  its  Serpent,"  said  Queen 
Tita,  with  a  sigh,  as  we  were  about  to  leave  the  white 
streets  of  Kendal  for  the  green  heart  of  the  Lake  district. 

A  more  cruel  speech  was  never  made.  Arthur,  for 
aught  we  knew,  might  be  lying  smashed  up  in  a  Yorkshire 
ditch.  He  had  not  overtaken  us  even  on  the  morning 
after  our  arrival  in  Kendal.  No  message  had  come  from 
him.  "Was  this  a  time  to  liken  him  to  the  Father  of  Lies, 
when  perhaps  the  Major's  cob  had  taken  him  down  a 
railway  cutting  or  thrown  him  into  a  disused  coalpit  ? 

T  2 


276  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

What,  for  example,  if  his  corpse  had  been  brought  into  the 
King's  Arms  in  which  the  above  words  were  uttered  ? 
Would  the  Lieutenant  have  spoken  of  him  contemptuously 
as  "  a  pitiful  fellow — oh,  a  very  pitiful  fellow  !  "  "Would 
Bell  have  borne  his  presence  with  a  meek  and  embarrassed 
resignation  ;  or  would  Queen  Tita  have  regarded  the  young 
man — who  used  to  be  a  great  friend  of  hers — as  one  intend- 
ing to  do  her  a  deadly  injury  ? 

"  Poor  Arthur  !  "  I  say.  "  Whither  have  all  thy  friends 
departed  ?  " 

"  At  least,  he  does  not  want  for  an  apologist,"  says  Tita, 
with  a  little  unnecessary  fierceness. 

"  Perhaps  thou  art  lying  under  two  wheels  in  a  peaceful 
glade.  Perhaps  thou  art  floating  out  to  the  ocean  on  the 
bosom  of  a  friendly  stream — with  all  the  companions  of  thy 
youth  unheeding " 

"  Stuff  !  "  says  Queen  Titania  ;  and  when  I  observe  that 
I  will  address  no  further  appeal  to  her — for  that  a  lady 
who  lends  herself  to  match-making  abandons  all  natural 
instincts  and  is  insensible  to  a  cry  for  pity — she  turns 
impatiently  and  asks  what  I  have  done  with  her  eau-de- 
cologne,  as  if  the  fate  of  Arthur  were  of  less  importance  to 
her  than  that  trumpery  flask. 

Wherever  the  young  man  was,  we  could  gain  no  tidings 
of  him ;  and  so  we  went  forth  once  more  on  our  journey. 
But  as  the  certainty  was  that  he  had  not  passed  us,  how 
was  it  that  Queen  Tita  feared  the  presence  of  this  evil 
thing  in  the  beautiful  land  before  us  ? 

"For,"  said  the  Lieutenant,  pretending  he  was  quite 
anxious  about  the  safety  of  his  rival,  and,  on  the  whole, 
desirous  of  seeing  him,  "he  may  have  gone  to  Carlisle, 
as  he  at  first  proposed,  to  meet  us  there." 

"  Oh,  do  you  think  so  ?  "  said  Bell,  eagerly.  Was  she 
glad,  then,  to  think  that  during  our  wanderings  in  her 
native  county  we  should  not  be  accompanied  by  that 
unhappy  youth  ? 

But  the  emotions  which  perplexed  my  Lady's  heart  at 
this  time  were  of  the  most  curious  sort.  It  was  only  by 
bits  and  snatches  that  the  odd  contradictions  and  intricacies 
of  them  were  revealed.  To  begin  with,  she  had  a  sneaking 
fondness  for  Arthur,  begotten  of  old  associations.  She  was 


OF  A  PHAETON.  277 

vexed  with  him  because  he  was  likely  to  ruin  her  plan  for 
the  marriage  of  Bell  and  the  Lieutenant ;  and  when  Tita 
thought  of  this  delightful  prospect  being  destroyed  by  the 
interference  of  Arthur,  she  grew  angry,  and  regarded  him 
as  an  unreasonable  and  officious  young  man,  who  ought  to 
be  sent  about  his  business.  Then  again,  when  she  recalled 
our  old  evenings  in  Surrey,  and  the  pleasant  time  the  boy 
had  in  sweethearting  with  our  Bonny  Bell  during  the  long 
and  lazy  afternoon  walks,  she  was  visited  with  remorse,  and 
wished  she  could  do  something  for  him.  But  a  claimant  of 
this  sort  who  represents  an  injury  is  certain,  sooner  or  later, 
to  be  regarded  with  dislike.  He  is  continually  reminding 
us  that  we  have  injured  him,  and  disturbing  our  peace  of 
mind.  Sometimes  Tita  resented  this  claim  (which  was 
entirely  of  her  own  imagining)  so  strongly  as  to  look  upon 
Arthur  as  a  perverse  and  wicked  intermeddler  with  the 
happiness  of  two  young  lovers.  So  the  world  wags.  The 
person  who  is  inconvenient  to  us  does  us  a  wrong.  At  the 
very  basis  of  our  theatrical  drama  lies  the  principle  that 
non-success  in  a  love-affair  is  criminal.  Two  young  men 
shall  woo  a  young  maid  ;  the  one  shall  be  taken,  and  the 
other  made  a  villain  of  because  he  paid  the  girl  the 
compliment  of  wanting  to  marry  her  ;  and  justice  shall  not 
be  satisfied  until  everybody  has  hounded  and  hunted  the 
poor  villain  through  all  the  phases  of  the  play,  until  all  the 
good  people  meet  to  witness  his  discomfiture,  and  he  is 
bidden  to  go  away  and  be  a  rejected  suitor  no  more. 

It  was  only  in  one  of  these  varying  moods  that  Tita  had 
shown  a  partial  indifference  to  Arthur's  fate.  She  was 
really  concerned  about  his  absence.  When  she  took  her 
seat  in  the  phaeton,  she  looked  back  and  down  the  main 
thoroughfare  of  Kendal,  half  expecting  to  see  the  Major's 
cob  and  a  small  dog-cart  come  driving  along.  The 
suggestion  that  he  might  have  gone  on  to  Penrith  or 
Carlisle  comforted  her  greatly.  The  only  inexplicable  cir- 
cumstance was  that  Arthur  had  not  written  or  telegraphed 
to  Kendal,  at  which  town  he  knew  we  were  to  stop. 

About  five  minutes  after  our  leaving  Kendal,  Arthur  was 
as  completely  forgotten  as  though  no  such  hapless  creature 
was  in  existence.  We  were  all  on  foot  except  Tita,  who 
remained  in  the  phaeton  to  hold  the  reins  in  a  formal 


278  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES       '•• 

fashion.  For  about  a  mile  and  a  half  the  road  gradually 
rises,  giving  a  long  spell  of  collar-work  to  horses  with 
weight  to  drag  behind  them.  Tita,  who  weighs  about  a 
feather  and  a  half,  was  commissioned  to  the  charge  of  the 
phaeton  while  the  rest  of  us  dawdled  along  the  road,  giving 
Castor  and  Pollux  plenty  of  time.  It  was  a  pleasant  walk. 
The  Lieutenant — with  an  amount  of  hypocrisy  of  which  I 
had  not  suspected  him  guilty — seemed  to  prefer  to  go  by 
the  side  of  the  phaeton,  and  talk  to  the  small  lady  sitting 
enthroned  there  ;  but  Bell,  once  on  foot  and  in  her  native 
air,  could  not  so  moderate  her  pace.  We  set  off  up  the  hill. 
There  was  a  scent  of  peat-reek  in  the  air.  A  cool  west 
wind  was  blowing  through  the  tall  hedges  and  the  trees ; 
and  sudden  shafts  and  gleams  of  sunlight  fell  from  the 
uncertain  sky  and  lit  up  the  tangled  masses  of  weeds  and 
flowers  by  the  roadside.  Bell  pulled  a  white  dog-rose,  and 
kissed  it  as  though  a  Westmoreland  rose  was  an  old  friend 
she  had  come  to  see.  She  found  good  jests  in  the  idlest  talk, 
and  laughed  ;  and  all  her  face  was  aglow  with  delight  as 
she  looked  at  the  beautiful  country,  and  the  breezy  sky,  and 
the  blue  peaks  of  the  mountains  that  seemed  to  grow 
higher  and  higher  the  further  we  ascended  the  hill. 

"  You  silly  girl,"  I  say  to  her,  when  she  is  eager  to  point 
out  cottages  built  of  stone,  and  stone  walls  separating  small 
orchards  from  the  undulating  meadows, "  do  you  think  there 
are  no  stone  cottages  anywhere  but  in  Westmoreland  ? " 

"  I  didn't  say  there  wasn't,"  she  answers,  regardless  of 
grammar. 

Yes,  we  were  certainly  in  Westmoreland.  She  had 
scarcely  uttered  the  words  when  a  rapid  pattering  was 
heard  among  the  trees,  and  presently  a  brisk  shower  was 
raining  down  upon  us.  Would  she  return  to  the  phaeton 
for  a  shawl  ?  No.  She  knew  the  ways  of  Westmoreland 
showers  on  such  a  day  this — indeed,  she  had  predicted  that 
some  of  the  heavy  clouds  being  blown  over  from  the  other 
side  of  Windermere  would  visit  us  in  passing.  In  a  few 
minutes  the  shower  lightened ;  the  wind  that  shook  the 
heavy  drops  from  the  trees  seemed  to  bring  dryness  with  it  ; 
and  presently  a  warm  glow  of  sunshine  sprang  down  upon 
the  road,  and  the  air  grew  sweet  with  resinous  and  fragrant 
smells. 


OF  A  PHAETON.  279 

"  It  was  merely  to  lay  the  dust,"  said  Bell,  as  though  she 
had  ordered  the  shower. 

After  you  pass  Rather  Heath,  you  go  down  into  the 
valley  of  the  Gowan.  The  road  is  more  of  a  lane  than  a 
highway  ;  and  the  bright  and  showery  day  added  to  the 
picturesqueness  of  the  tall  hedges  and  the  wooded  country 
on  both  sides  by  sending  across  alternate  splashes  of  gloom 
and  bursts  of  sunlight.  More  than  once,  too,  the  tail-end 
of  a  shower  caught  us  ;  but  we  cared  little  for  rain  that 
had  wind  and  sunlight  on  the  other  side  of  it ;  and  Bell, 
indeed,  rather  rejoiced  in  the  pictorial  effects  produced  by 
changing  clouds,  when  the  sunshine  caused  the  heavier 
masses  to  grow  black  and  ominous,  or  shone  mistily  through 
the  frail  sheet  produced  by  the  thinner  fleeces  melting  into 
rain. 

Tita  is  a  pretty  safe  driver  in  Surrey,  where  she  knows 
every  inch  of  the  roads  and  lanes,  and  has  nothing  to  dis- 
tract her  attention  ;  but  here,  among  these  hilly  and  stony 
"Westmoreland  roads,  her  enjoyment  of  the  bright  panorama 
around  her  considerably  drew  her  attention  away  from  the 
horses'  feet.  Then  she  was  sorely  troubled  by  news  that 
had  reached  us  that  morning  from  home.  An  evil-doer, 
whom  she  had  hitherto  kept  in  order  by  alternate  bribes 
and  threats,  had  broken  out  again,  and  given  his  wife  a 
desperate  thrashing.  Now  this  occurrence  seldom  happened 
except  when  both  husband  and  wife  were  intoxicated  ;  and 
for  some  time  back  my  Lady  had  succeeded  in  stopping  their 
periodical  bouts.  With  these  evil  tidings  came  the  report 
that  a  horrible  old  creature  of  sixty — as  arrant  a  rogue  as 
ever  went  on  crutches,  although  Tita  would  have  taken 
the  life  of  anyone  who  dared  to  say  so  of  one  of  her  pets — 
had  deliberately  gone  to  Guildford  and  pawned  certain 
pieces  of  flannel  which  had  been  given  her  to  sew.  In 
short,  as  Bell  proceeded  to  point  out,  the  whole  neighbour- 
hood was  in  revolt.  The  chief  administrator  of  justice  and 
Queen's  Almoner  of  the  district  was  up  here  skylarking  in 
a  phaeton,  while  her  subjects  down  in  the  south  had  broken 
out  into  flagrant  rebellion.  History  tells  of  a  Scotch  parish 
that  suddenly  rose  and  hanged  the  minister,  drowned  the 
precentor,  and  raffled  the  church  bell  :  who  was  now  to 
answer  for  the  safety  of  our  most  cherished  parochial 


280  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

institutions  when  the  guardian  of  law  and  order  had  with- 
drawn herself  into  the  remote  regions  of  the  hills  ? 

"That  revolt,"  it  is  observed,  "is  the  natural  conse- 
quence of  tyranny.  For  years  you  have  crushed  down  and 
domineered  over  that  unhappy  parish  ;  and  the  unenfran- 
chised millions,  who  had  no  more  liberty  than  is  vouchsafed 
to  a  stabled  horse  or  a  chained  dog,  have  risen  at  last. 
Mort  aux  tyrans !  Will  they  chase  us,  do  you  think, 
Bell  ?  " 

"  I  am  quite  convinced,"  remarked  my  Lady,  deliberately 
and  calmly,  "  that  the  poor  old  woman  has  done  nothing 
of  the  kind.  She  could  not  do  it.  Why  should  she  seek 
to  gain  a  few  shillings  at  the  expense  of  forfeiting  all  the 
assistance  she  had  to  expect  from  me  ?  " 

"  An  independent  peasantry  is  not  to  be  bought  over  by 
pitiful  bribes.  Tis  a  free  country  ;  and  the  three  balls 
ought  to  be  placed  among  the  insignia  of  Royalty,  instead 
of  that  meaningless  sphere.  Can  any  student  of  history 
now  present  explain  the  original  purpose  of  that  instru- 
ment ?  " 

"  I  suppose,"  says  Bell,  "  that  Queen  Elizabeth,  who 
always  has  it  in  her  hand,  used  to  chastise  her  maid- 
servants with  it." 

"Wrong.  With  that  weapon  Henry  the  Eighth  was 
wont  to  strike  down  and  murder  the  good  priests  who 
interfered  with  his  unholy  wishes." 

"  Henry  the  Eighth "  says  my  Lady  ;  but  just  at 

this  moment  Castor  caught  a  stone  slightly  with  his  foot, 
and  the  brief  stumble  caused  my  Lady  to  mind  her  driving  ; 
so  that  Henry  the  Eighth,  wherever  he  is,  may  be  con- 
gratulated on  the  fact  that  she  did  not  finish  her  sentence. 

Then  we  ran  pleasantly  along  the  valley  until  we  came  in 
sight,  once  more,  of  Windermere.  We  drove  round  the 
foot  of  the  green  slopes  of  Elleray.  We  plunged  into  the 
wood,  and  there  was  all  around  us  a  moist  odour  of  toad- 
stools and  fern.  We  went  by  St.  Catherine's,  and  over 
Troutbeck  Bridge,  and  so  down  to  the  lake-side  by  Ecclerigg 
House  and  Lowood.  It  was  along  this  road  that  Bell  and 
her  companion  had  walked  the  night  before,  when  the 
crescent  moon  was  throwing  a  tremulous  light  over  Winder- 
mere.  The  Lieutenant  had  said  not  a  word  about  the 


OF  A  PHAETON.  281 

results  of  that  long  interview ;  but  they  had  clearly  not 
been  unfavourable  to  him ;  for  he  had  been  in  excellent 
good  spirits  during  the  rest  of  the  evening  ;  and  now  he 
was  chatting  to  Bell  as  if  nothing  had  occurred  to  break 
the  even  tenor  of  their  acquaintanceship.  They  had  quite 
resumed  their  old  relations,  which  was  a  blessing  to  the 
two  remaining  members  of  the  party.  Indeed,  there  was  no 
bar  now  placed  upon  Bell's  singing  except  her  own  talking  ; 
and  when  a  young  lady  undertakes  to  instruct  her  elders 
in  the  history,  traditions,  manners,  customs,  and  peculiarities 
of  Westmoreland,  she  has  not  much  time  for  strumming  on 
the  guitar.  Bell  acted  the  part  of  valet  de  place  to  perfec- 
tion ;  and  preached  at  us  just  as  if  we  were  all  as  great 
strangers  as  the  Lieutenant  was.  It  is  true  our  guide  was 
not  infallible.  Sometimes  we  could  see  that  she  was  in  deep 
distress  over  the  names  of  the  peaks  up  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  the  Langdale  Pikes  ;  but  what  did  it  matter  to  us 
which  was  Scawfell,  and  which  was  Bowfell,  or  which  was 
Great  Gable  and  which  Great  End  ?  We  had  come  to 
enjoy  our  driving,  not  to  correct  the  Ordnance  Survey  Maps. 

"  I  am  afraid,"  said  my  Lady,  when  some  proposal  to 
stop  at  Ambleside  and  climb  Wansfell  Pike  had  been 
unanimously  rejected,  "that  we  have  been  throughout 
this  journey  disgracefully  remiss.  We  have  gone  to  see 
nothing  that  we  ought  to  have  seen.  We  have  never  paid 
any  attention  to  ancient  ruins,  or  galleries  of  pictures,  or 
celebrated  monuments.  We  have  not  climbed  a  single 
mountain.  We  went  past  Woodstock  without  looking  in 
at  the  gates — we  did  not  even  go  to  see  the  obelisk  on 
Evesham  Plain " 

"  That  was  because  some  of  you  drove  the  horses  the 
wrong  way,"  it  is  remarked. 

"  Indeed,  we  have  done  nothing  that  we  ought  to  have 
done." 

"  Perhaps,  Madame,"  said  the  Lieutenant,  "  that  is  why 
the  voyage  has  been  so  pleasant  to  us.  One  cannot  always 
be  instructing  oneself,  like  a  tourist." 

If  you  wish  to  vex  Queen  Tita,  call  her  a  tourist.  This 
subtle  compliment  of  the  Lieutenant  pleased  her  immensely  : 
but  I  confess  myself  unable  to  see  in  what  respects  we  were 
not  tourists,  except  that  we  were  a  little  more  ignorant,  and 


282  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

indifferent  to  our  ignorance,  than  holiday  travellers  generally 
are.  What  tourist,  for  example,  would  have  done  such  a 
barbaric  thing  as  go  through  Ambleside  without  stopping  a 
day  there  ? 

That  was  all  along  of  Bell,  however,  who  insisted  on  our 
spending  the  treasure  of  our  leisure  time  upon  Grasmere  ; 
and  who  was  strengthened  in  her  demands  by  my  Lady, 
when  she  came  in  view  of  a  considerable  number  of  tourists 
lounging  about  the  former  town.  The  poor  men  were  for 
the  most  part  dressed  as  mountaineers — otherwise  they  were 
quite  harmless.  They  were  loitering  about  the  main 
thoroughfare  of  Ambleside,  with  their  hands  in  the 
pockets  of  their  knickerbockers,  gazing  in  at  a  stationer's 
window,  or  regarding  a  brace  of  setters  that  a  keeper  stand- 
ing in  front  of  an  hotel  had  in  leash.  They  did  not  even 
look  narrowly  at  the  knees  of  our  horses — an  ordinary  piece 
of  polite  impertinence.  They  were  well-meaning  and  well- 
conducted  persons  ;  and  the  worst  that  could  be  said  of 
them,  that  they  were  tourists,  has  been  said  about  many 
good  and  respectable  people.  A  man  may  have  climbed 
Loughrigg  Fell,  and  yet  be  an  attentive  husband  and  an 
affectionate  father  ;  while  knickerbockers  in  themselves  are 
not  an  indictable  offence.  My  Lady  made  no  answer  to 
these  humble  representations  ;  but  asked  for  how  long  the 
horses  would  have  to  be  put  up  before  we  started  again. 

Bell's  enthusiasm  of  the  morning  had  given  way  to  some- 
thing of  disappointment,  which  she  tried  hard  to  conceal. 
Ambleside,  one  of  the  places  she  had  been  dreaming  about 
for  years,  looked  painfully  modern  now.  In  thinking  about 
it,  down  in  our  southern  home,  she  had  shut  out  of  the 
picture,  hotels,  shops,  and  fashionably- dressed  people  ;  and 
had  dwelt  only  on  the  wild  and  picturesque  features  of  a 
neighbourhood  that  had  at  one  time  been  as  familiar  to  her 
as  her  mother's  face.  But  now,  Ambleside  seemed  to  have 
grown  big,  and  new,  and  strange  ;  and  she  lost  the  sense  of 
proprietorship  which  she  had  been  exhibiting  in  our  drive 
through  the  scenery  of  the  morning.  Then  Loughrigg  Fell 
did  us  an  evil  turn — gathering  up  all  the  clouds  that  the 
wind  had  driven  over,  and  sending  them  gently  and  per- 
sistently down  into  the  valley  of  the  Rothay,  so  that  a 
steady  rain  had  set  in.  The  Lieutenant  did  not  care  much 


OF  A  PHAETON.  283 

how  the  sky  might  be  clouded  over,  so  long  as  Bell's  face 
remained  bright  and  happy  ;  but  it  was  quite  evident  she  was 
disappointed  ;  and  he  in  vain  attempted  to  reassure  her  by 
declaring  that  these  two  days  had  convinced  him  that  the 
Lake  country  was  the  most  beautiful  in  the  world.  She 
could  not  foresee  then  that  this  very  gloom,  which  seemed  to 
mean  nothing  but  constant  wet,  would  procure  for  us  later 
on  by  far  the  most  impressive  sight  that  we  encountered 
during  the  whole  of  our  long  summer  ramble. 

Our  discontent  with  Loughrigg  Fell  took  an  odd  turn 
when  it  discharged  itself  upon  the  Duke  of  Wellington.  We 
had  grown  accustomed  to  that  foolish  picture  of  the  Water- 
loo Heroes,  in  which  the  Duke,  in  a  pair  of  white  pantaloons, 
stands  in  the  attitude  of  a  dancing-master,  with  an  idiotic 
simper  on  his  face.  All  along  the  road,  in  public-houses, 
inns,  and  hotels,  we  had  met  this  desperate  piece  of  decora- 
tion on  the  walls,  and  had  only  smiled  a  melancholy  smile 
when  we  came  upon  another  copy.  But  this  particular 
print  seemed  to  be  quite  offensively  ridiculous.  If  Henry 
the  Eighth  had  been  inside  these  long  white  pantaloons  and 
that  tight  coat,  my  Lady  could  not  have  regarded  the  figure 
with  a  severer  contempt.  We  picked  out  enemies  among 
the  attendant  generals,  just  as  one  goes  over  an  album  of 
photographs  and  has  a  curious  pleasure  in  recording  mental 
likes  and  dislikes  produced  by  unknown  faces.  Somehow, 
all  the  Waterloo  Heroes  on  this  evening  looked  stupid  and 
commonplace.  It  seemed  a  mercy  that  Napoleon  was 
beaten  ;  but  how  he  had  been  beaten  by  such  a  series  of 
gabies  and  nincompoops  none  of  us  could  make  out. 

Then  the  Lieutenant  must  needs  grumble  at  the  luncheon 
served  up  to  us.  It  was  a  good  enough  luncheon,  as  hotels 
go ;  and  even  my  Lady  was  moved  to  express  her  surprise 
that  a  young  man  who  professed  himself  able  to  enjoy  any- 
thing in  the  way  of  food,  and  who  had  told  us  amusing 
stories  of  his  foraging  adventures  in  campaigning  time, 
should  care  whether  there  were  or  were  not  lemon  and 
bread-crumbs  with  a  mutton  cutlet. 

"  Madame,"  said  the  Lieutenant,  "  that  is  very  well  in  a 
campaign,  when  you  are  glad  of  anything  ;  but  there  is  no 
merit  in  eating  badly-cooked  food — none  at  all." 

"  A  soldier  should  not  mind  such  trifles,"  she  said  ;  but 


284  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

she  smiled  as  though  to  imply  that  she  agreed  with  him  all 
the  same. 

"  Well,  I  think,"  said  the  young  man,  doggedly,  "  it  is 
no  shame  that  anyone  should  know  what  is  good  to  eat,  and 
when  it  is  properly  prepared.  It  is  not  any  more  contemptible 
than  dressing  yourself  in  good  taste,  which  is  a  duty  you 
owe  to  other  people.  You  should  see  our  old  generals — who 
are  very  glad  of  some  coarse  bread,  and  a  piece  of  sausage, 
and  a  tumbler  of  sour  wine,  when  they  are  riding  across  a 
country  in  the  war — how  they  study  delicate  things,  and 
scientific  cookery,  and  all  that,  in  Berlin." 

"And  do  you  follow  their  example  when  you  are  at 
home  ?  " 

"  Not  always  ;  I  have  not  enough  time.  But  when  you 
come  to  my  house  in  Berlin,  Madame,  you  will  see  what 
luncheon  you  shall  have." 

"  Can't  you  tell  us  about  it  now  ?  "  says  Tita. 

"  Pray  do,"  echoes  Bell,  after  casting  another  reproachful 
glance  at  the  rain  out  of  doors. 

The  Lieutenant  laughed  ;  but  seeing  that  the  women  were 
quite  serious,  he  proceeded  in  a  grave  and  solemn  manner  to 
instruct  them  in  the  art  of  preparing  luncheon. 

"First,"  said  he,  "you  must  have  Russian  black  bread 
and  French  white  bread  cut  into  thin  slices — but  you  do  not 
use  the  black  bread  yet  a  while  ;  and  you  must  have  some 
good  Rhine  wine,  a  little  warmed  if  it  is  in  the  winter  ; 
some  Bordeaux,  a  bottle  of  green  Chartreuse,  and  some 
champagne,  if  there  are  ladies.  Now,  for  the  first,  you  take 
a  slice  of  white  bread  ;  you  put  a  little  butter  on  it,  very  thin  ; 
and  then  you  open  a  pot  of  Russian  caviare,  and  you  put 
that  on  the  slice  of  bread  three-quarters  of  an  inch  thick, 
not  less  than  that.  You  must  not  taste  it  by  little  and 
little,  as  all  English  ladies  do  ;  but  eat  it  boldly,  and  you 
will  be  grateful.  Then  half  a  glass  of  soft  Rhine  wine — if 
it  is  a  good  Marcobrunner,  that  is  excellent.  Then  you  eat 
one  slice  of  the  black  bread,  with  butter  on  it,  more  thick 
than  on  the  white  bread.  Then  you  have  two,  perhaps 
three,  Norwegian  anchovies " 

"  Would  you  mind  my  writing  these  things  down  ?  "  says 
my  Lady. 

The  Lieutenant  of  course  assents  ;  she  produces  a  small 


Of  A  PHAETON.  285 

bunch  of  ivory  tablets  ;  and  I  know  the  horrible  purpose  that 
fills  her  mind  as  she  proceeds  to  compose  this  programme* 

"  You  must  have  the  caviare  and  the  anchovies  of  real 
quality,  or  everything  is  spoiled.  With  the  anchovies  you 
may  eat  the  black  bread,  or  the  white,  but  I  think  without 
butter.  Then  half  a  glass  of  Rhine  wine " 

"  Those  half -glasses  of  Rhine  wine  are  coming  in  rather 
often,"  remarks  Bell. 

"  No,  Mademoiselle,  that  is  the  last  of  the  Rhine  wine. 
Next  is  a  thin  slice  of  white  bread,  very  thin  butter,  and  a 
very  thin  slice  of  Bologna  sausage.  This  is  optional " 

"  My  dear,"  I  say  to  Tita,  "  be  sure  you  put  down  *  This 
is  optional  I '  " 

"With  it  you  have  a  glass  of  good  and  soft  Bordeaux 
wine.  Then,  Madame,  we  come  to  the  reindeer's  tongue. 
This  is  the  piece  de  resistance ;  and  your  guests  must  eat  of  it 
just  as  they  have  their  hour  for  dinner  in  the  evening. 
Also,  if  they  are  ladies,  they  may  prefer  a  sparkling  wine  to 
the  Bordeaux,  though  the  Bordeaux  is  much  better.  And 
this  is  the  reason  : — After  the  reindeer's  tongue  is  taken 
away,  and  you  may  eat  an  olive  or  two,  then  a  pate  defoie 
gras — real  from  Strasburg " 

"  Stop  !  "  cries  one  of  the  party.  "  If  I  have  any 
authority  left,  I  forbid  the  addition  to  that  disastrous 
catalogue  of  another  single  item  !  I  will  not  suffer  their 
introduction  into  the  house  !  Away  with  them  !  " 

"  But,  my  dear  friend,"  says  the  Lieutenant, "  it  is  a  good 
thing  to  accustom  yourself  to  eat  the  meats  of  all  countries 
—you  know  not  where  you  may  find  yourself." 

"Yes,"  says  Bell  gently,  "one  ought  to  learn  to  like 
caviare,  lest  one  should  be  thrown  on  a  desert  island." 

"  And  why  not  ?  "  says  the  persistent  young  man.  "  You 
are  thrown  on  a  desert  island — you  catch  a  sturgeon — you 
take  the  roe,  and  you  know  how  to  make  very  good 
caviare " 

"  But  how  about  the  half -glass  of  Rhine  wine  ?  "  says  my 
Lady. 

"  You  cannot  have  everything  in  a  desert  island  ;  but  in 
a  town,  where  you  have  time  to  study  such  things " 

"  And  where  you  can  order  coffins  for  half -past  three,"  it 
is  suggested. 


286  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

" A  good  luncheon  is  a  good  thing." 

"  Ladies  and  gentlemen,"  said  Bell,  "  the  rain  has  ceased.1' 
And  so  it  had.  While  we  had  been  contemplating  that 
imaginary  feast,  and  paying  no  attention  to  the  changes  out 
of  doors,  the  clouds  had  gradually  withdrawn  themselves  up 
the  mountains,  and  the  humid  air  showed  no  more  slanting 
lines  of  rain.  But  still  overhead  there  hung  a  heavy  gloom  ; 
and  along  the  wet  woods,  and  on  the  troubled  bosom  of  the 
lake,  and  up  the  slopes  of  the  hills,  there  seemed  to  lie  an 
ominous  darkness.  Should  we  reach  Grasmere  in  safety  ? 
The  Lieutenant  had  the  horses  put  to  with  all  speed  ;  and 
presently  Bell  was  taking  us  at  a  rapid  pace  into  the  wooded 
gorge  that  lies  between  Nab  Scar  and  Loughrigg  Fell, 
where  the  gathering  twilight  seemed  to  deepen  with  pre- 
monitions of  a  storm. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

AT  NIGHT  ON  GRASMERE. 

"  Ye  who  have  yearned 

With  too  much  passion,  will  here  stay  and  pity, 
For  the  mere  sake  of  truth ;  as  'tis  a  ditty 
Not  of  these  days,  but  long  ago  'twas  told 
By  a  cavern  wind  unto  a  forest  old ; 
And  then  the  forest  told  it  in  a  dream 
To  a  sleeping  lake." 

WE  drove  into  the  solitude  of  this  deep  valley  without 
uttering  a  word.  How  could  we  tell  what  the  strange  gloom 
and  silence  might  portend  ?  Far  away  up  the  misty  and 
rounded  slopes  of  Loughrigg  the  clouds  lay  heavy  and  thick  ; 
and  over  the  masses  of  Rydal  Fell,  on  the  other  side  of  the 
gorge,  an  ominous  darkness  brooded.  Down  here  in  the 
chasm  the  trees  hung  cold  and  limp  in  the  humid  air, 
crushed  by  the  long  rain.  There  was  no  sign  of  life  abroad, 
only  that  we  heard  the  rushing  of  the  river  Rothay  along 
its  narrow  channel.  There  was  not  even  any  movement  in 
that  wild  and  sombre  sky,  that  looked  all  the  more  singular 
because  of  the  motionless  storm-clouds. 

But  as  we  drove  on,  it  seemed  to  become  less  likely  that 
the  rain  would  set  in  again.  The  clouds  had  got  banked  up 
in  great  billows  of  vapour  ;  and  underneath  them  we  could 


OF  A  PHAETON.  287 

see,  even  in  the  twilight,  the  forms  of  the  mountains  with 
a  strange  distinctness.  The  green  of  the  distant  slopes  up 
there  grew  more  and  more  intense,  strengthened  as  it  was  by 
long  splashes  of  a  deep  purple  where  the  slate  was  visible  ; 
then  the  heavy  grey  of  the  sky,  weighing  upon  the  summits 
of  the  hills. 

But  all  this  was  as  nothing  to  the  wild  and  gloomy  scene 
that  met  our  view  when  we  came  in  sight  of  Eydal  Water. 
We  scarcely  knew  the  lake  we  had  loved  of  old,  in  bright 
days,  and  in  sunshine,  and  blowing  rain.  Here,  hidden 
away  among  reeds,  lay  a  long  stretch  of  dark  slate-blue,  with 
no  streak  of  white  along  the  shores,  no  ripple  under  the  crags, 
to  show  that  it  was  water.  So  perfect  was  the  mirror-like 
surface,  that  it  was  impossible  to  say  in  the  gathering  dusk 
where  the  lake  ended  and  the  land  began.  The  islands,  the 
trees,  the  fields,  and  the  green  spaces  of  the  hills,  were  as 
distinct  below  as  above  ;  and  where  the  purple-blue  of  the  lake 
ran  in  among  the  reeds,  no  one  could  make  out  the  line  of 
the  shore.  It  was  a  strange  and  impressive  spectacle,  this 
silent  mere  lying  at  the  foot  of  the  hills,  and  so  calm  and 
death-like  that  the  motionless  clouds  of  the  sky  were  reflected 
without  a  tremor  on  the  sheet  of  glass.  This  was  not  the 
Eydal  Water  we  had  been  hoping  to  see,  but  a  solitary  and 
enchanted  lake,  struck  silent  and  still  by  the  awful  calmness 
of  the  twilight  and  the  presence  of  the  lowering  heavens. 

We  got  down  from  the  phaeton.  The  horses  were  allowed 
to  walk  quietly  on,  with  Tita  in  charge,  while  we  sauntered 
along  the  winding  road,  by  the  side  of  this  sombre  sheet 
of  water.  We  had  no  more  fear  of  rain.  There  was  a 
firmness  about  the  outlines  of  the  clouds  that  became  more 
marked  as  the  dusk  fell.  But  although  the  darkness  was 
coming  on  apace,  we  did  not  hasten  our  steps  much.  When 
should  we  ever  again  behold  such  a  picture  as  this,  the  like 
of  which  Bell,  familiar  with  the  sights  and  sounds  of  the 
district  from  her  childhood,  had  never  seen  before  ? 

What  I  have  written  above  conveys  nothing  of  the 
impressive  solemnity  and  majesty  of  this  strange  sight  as  we 
saw  it  ;  and  indeed  I  had  resolved,  before  entering  the  Lake 
district,  to  leave  out  of  the  jottings  of  a  mere  holiday 
traveller  any  mention  of  scenes  which  have  become  familiar 
to  the  world  through  the  imperishable  and  unapproachable 


288  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

descriptions  of  the  great  masters  who  lived  and  wrote  in 
these  regions.  But  such  jottings  must  be  taken  for  what 
they  are  worth — the  hasty  record  of  hasty  impressions  ;  and 
how  could  our  little  party  have  such  a  vision  vouchsafed  to 
them  without  at  least  noting  it  down  as  an  incident  of  their 
journey  ? 

"We  walked  on  in  the  darkness.  The  slopes  of  Nab  Scar 
had  become  visible.  Here  and  there  a  white  cottage 
glimmered  out  from  the  roadside  ;  and  Bell  knew  the  name 
of  every  one  of  them,  and  of  the  people  who  used  to  occupy 
them. 

"  How  surprised  some  of  our  friends  would  be,"  she  said 
to  Tita,  "if  we  were  to  call  on  them  to-night,  and  walk  in 
without  saying  a  word." 

"  They  would  take  you  for  a  banshee,"  said  my  Lady, 
"  on  such  an  evening  as  this.  Get  up,  Bell,  and  let  us  drive 
on.  I  am  beginning  to  shiver— whether  with  fright  or  with 
cold,  I  don't  know." 

So  we  got  into  the  phaeton  again,  and  sent  the  horses 
forward.  We  drove  along  the  broad  road  which  skirts  the 
reedy  and  shallow  end  of  Eydal  Water,  and  entered  the 
valley  of  the  stream  which  comes  flowing  through  the  trees 
from  Grasmere.  It  was  now  almost  dark  ;  and  the  only 
sound  we  could  hear  was  that  of  the  river  plashing 
along  its  rocky  bed.  By  and  by,  a  glimmer  of  yellow 
light  was  observed  in  front ;  and  Bell  having  announced 
that  this  was  the  Prince  of  Wales  Hotel,  we  were  soon 
within  its  comfortable  precincts.  In  passing  we  had  got 
a  glimpse  of  a  dark  steel  grey  lake  lying  amid  grey  mists 
and  under  sombre  hills — that  was  all  we  knew  as  yet  of 
Grasmere. 

But  about  an  hour  afterwards,  when  we  had  dined,  the 
Lieutenant  came  back  from  the  window  at  which  he  had 
been  standing  for  a  minute  or  two,  and  said — 

"  Mademoiselle,  I  have  a  communication  for  you." 

Mademoiselle  looked  up. 

"  If  you  will  go  'to  the  window " 

Bell  rose  and  went  directly. 

"I  know,"  said  my  Lady,  with  a  well-affected  sigh, 
"  The  night  has  cleared  up — there  is  starlight  or  moonlight, 
or  something ;  and  I  suppose  we  shall  have  to  go  out  in  a 


OF  A  PHAETON.  289 

boat  to  please  these  foolish  young  people.  But  I  think  you 
will  be  disappointed  this  time,  Count  von  Rosen." 

"Why,  Madame?" 

"  This  is  a  respectable  hotel.  Do  you  think  they  would 
give  you  a  boat  ?  Now,  if  there  was  some  old  lady  to  be 
cajoled,  I  daresay  you  would  succeed " 

"  Oh,  you  do  think  we  cannot  get  a  boat,  yes  ?  I  do  not 
suppose  there  is  any  trouble  about  that,  if  only  Mademoiselle 
cares  about  going  out.  Perhaps  she  does  not — but  you 
must  see  how  beautiful  this  lake  is  at  present." 

The  idea  of  Bell  not  wishing  to  go  out  on  Grasmere — at 
any  hour  of  the  night — so  long  as  there  was  a  yellow  moon 
rising  over  the  dusky  heights  of  Silver  Home  !  The  girl 
was  all  in  a  flutter  of  eagerness  when  she  returned  from  the 
window — anxious  that  we  should  all  see  Grasmere  under 
these  fine  conditions,  just  as  if  Grasmere  belonged  to  her. 
And  the  Lieutenant,  having  gone  outside  for  a  few  minutes, 
returned  with  the  information  that  a  boat  was  waiting  for 
us.  There  was  no  triumph  in  his  face — no  exultation  ;  and 
it  never  occurred  to  anyone  to  ask  whether  this  young 
Uhlan  had  secured  the  boat  by  throwing  the  owner  of  it 
into  the  water.  The  women  were  quite  satisfied  to  accept  all 
the  pleasant  things  he  brought  them  ;  and  never  stopped  to 
inquire  by  what  tyrannical  or  disgraceful  means  the  young 
Prussian  had  succeeded  in  his  fell  endeavours.  But  at  all 
events  he  managed  to  keep  out  of  the  police-office. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  boat  was  not  only  waiting  when 
Tita  and  Bell,  having  dressed  for  the  purpose,  came  down- 
stairs, but  was  supplied  with  all  manner  of  nice  cushions, 
plaids,  rugs,  and  a  guitar-case.  The  women  showed  a  good 
deal  of  trepidation  in  stepping  into  the  frail  craft,  which 
lay  under  the  shadow  of  a  small  jetty  ;  but  once  out  in  the 
open  lake,  we  found  sufficient  light  around  us ;  and  Bell, 
pulling  her  grey  and  woollen  shawl  more  tightly  around  her, 
turned  to  look  at  the  wonders  of  Grasmere,  which  she  had 
not  seen  for  many  years. 

It  was  a  pleasant  night.  All  the  hills  and  woods  on  the 
other  side  of  the  lake  seemed  for  the  most  part  in  black 
shadow  ;  but  out  here  the  moonlight  dwelt  calmly  on  the 
water,  and  lit  up  the  wooded  island  further  down,  and 
shone  along  the  level  shores.  As  we  went-  out  into  the  silent 

U 


2c>o  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

plain,  the  windows  of  the  hotel  grew  smaller  and  smaller, 
until  in  the  distance  we  could  see  them  but  as  minute 
points  of  orange  fire  that  glittered  down  on  the  liquid 
surface  below.  Then,  in  the  perfect  stillness  of  the  night — 
as  the  measured  sound  of  the  rowlocks  told  of  our  progress, 
and  the  moonlight  touched  the  gleaming  blades  of  the  oars 
— we  were  all  at  once  startled  by  a  loud  and  hissing  noise, 
that  caused  Tita  to  utter  a  slight  cry  of  alarm. 

We  had  run  into  a  great  bed  of  reeds,  that  was  all 
— a  tangled  mass  of  water-lily  leaves,  with  millions  of 
straight  horsetails  rising  from  the  shallow  lake.  "We  pushed 
on.  The  horsetails  went  down  before  the  prow  of  the  boat ; 
but  all  around  us  the  miniature  forest  remained  erect. 
The  moonlight  sparkled  on  the  horizontal  ripples  that  we  sent 
circling  out  through  those  perpendicular  lines.  And  then 
the  Lieutenant  called  a  note  of  warning  ;  and  Bell  plunged 
her  oars  in  the  water  just  in  time,  for  we  had  nearly  run 
down  two  swans  that  were  fast  asleep  in  among  the  tall 
reeds. 

We  forsook  this  shallower  end  of  the  lake,  and,  with  some 
more  hissing  of  horsetails,  pushed  out  and  into  the  world  of 
moonlight  and  still  water  ;  and  then,  as  Tita  took  the  oars, 
and  just  dipped  them  now  and  again  to  give  us  a  sense  of 
motion,  Bell  rested  her  guitar  on  her  knee,  and  began  to 
sing  to  us.  What  should  she  sing  under  the  solitude  of  the 
hills,  when  all  our  laughter  of  dinner-time  was  over,  and 
we  were  as  silent  as  the  lake  itself  ?  There  was  not  even  a 
breath  of  wind  stirring  ;  and  it  was  in  a  very  low  voice, 
with  something  of  a  tremor  in  it,  that  Bell  began  to  accom- 
pany the  faint  touching  of  the  guitar. 

"I've  heard  the  lilting  at  our  ewe-milking," 

— she  sang,  and  her  voice  was  so  low  and  tremulous  that 
Tita  forgot  to  dip  the  oars  that  she  might  listen  to  the 
girl— 

"  Lasses  a  lilting  before  the  break  o'  day ; 
•  r  But  now  they  are  moaning  on  ilka  green  loaning— 
The  Flowers  o'  the  Forest  are  a'  wecle  away." 

Had  Grasmere  ever  listened  to  a  more  pathetic  ballad,  or 
to  a  tenderer  voice  ?  It  was  as  well,  perhaps,  that  the 


OF  A  PHAETON.  291 

Lieutenant  could  not  see  Bell's  face ;  for  as  she  sang  the 
last  verse — 

"  We  hear  nae  mair  lilting  at  our  ewe-milking ; 
Women  and  bairns  are  heartless  and  wae ; 
Sighing  and  moaning  on  ilka  green  loaning — 
The  Flowers  o'  the  Forest  are  a'  wede  away," 

— there  was  a  sort  of  indistinctness  in  her  voice  ;  and  when 
the  Lieutenant  said  that  it  was  the  finest  English  song  that 
he  had  yet  heard,  and  that  the  air  was  so  very  different 
from  most  of  the  old  English  tunes,  she  could  not  answer 
him  for  a  minute  or  two. 

But  when  she  did  answer  him,  fancy  our  astonishment  ! 

"  It  isn't  English,"  she  said,  with  just  a  trace  of  contempt 
in  her  tone.  "  When  did  you  find  the  English  able  to  write 
a  song  or  an  air  like  that  ?  " 

"  Grant  me  patience  !  "  cries  my  Lady,  with  a  fine 
theatrical  appeal  to  the  still  heavens  overhead.  "  This  girl, 
because  she  was  born  in  Westmoreland,  claims  the  possession 
of  everything  north  of  the  Trent." 

"  Are  not  you  also  English,  Mademoiselle  ? "  says  the 
Lieutenant. 

"  I  belong  to  the  North  Country,"  says  Bell  proudly  ; 
"  and  we  are  all  the  same  race  up  here." 

Now  you  should  have  seen  how  this  cue  was  seized  by 
the  Lieutenant.  The  boy  had  about  as  much  knowledge  of 
the  colonization  of  this  country  as  most  youths  pick  up  at 
school;  but  the  manner  in  which  he  twisted  it  about  to 
suit  the  wild  and  audacious  statement  that  Bell  had  uttered 
was  truly  alarming.  Before  we  knew  where  we  were,  we 
were  plunged  into  the  history  of  Strathclyde  ;  and  invited  to 
consider  the  consistency  of  character  that  must  have  prevailed 
in  the  great  Welsh  kingdom  that  stretched  from  Dumbarton 
to  Chester.  We  had  also  some  pleasant  little  excursions 
into  Bernicia  and  Deira  ;  with  abundance  of  proof  that  the 
Lowland  Scotch  speak  the  best  English  now  going — a  piece 
of  information  which  we  accepted  with  meekness.  We 
were  treated  to  a  recapitulation  of  the  settlements  of  the 
Angles,  together  with  a  learned  disquisition  on  the  aims 
of  Ida.  This  was  all  very  well.  It  passed  the  time.  Bell 
thought  she  was  firmly  established  in  her  position.  Her 

u  2 


292  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

traditional  reverence  for  the  "North  Country"  and  all 
its  belongings  had,  it  turned  out,  some  definite  historical 
justification.  She  had  a  right  to  claim  the  songs  of  the 
Lowland  Scotch  ;  was  she  not  herself  of  that  favoured  race  ? 
At  length  Queen  Tita  burst  into  a  merry  fit  of  laughter  ! 

"I  don't  know  what  you  mean  to  prove,  Count  von 
Rosen,"  she  said  ;  "  you  prove  so  much.  At  one  time  you 
insist  that  Bell  is  Scotch  ;  at  another  time  you  show  us  that 
she  must  be  Welsh,  if  all  the  people  in  Strathclyde  were 
Welsh.  But  look  at  her,  and  what  becomes  of  your 
theories  ?  There  is  no  more  English  girl  in  all  England 
than  our  Bell." 

"  That  is  no  harm  said  of  her,"  replied  the  Lieutenant, 
abandoning  his  arguments  at  once. 

"  I  suppose  I  am  English,"  said  Bell,  obstinately,  "  but  I 
am  North-country  English." 

Nobody  could  dispute  that ;  and  doubtless  the  Lieutenant 
considered  that  Bell's  division  of  this  realm  into  districts 
mapped  out  in  her  imagination  was  of  much  more  import- 
ance than  the  idle  inquiries  of  historians  into  the  German 
occupation  of  England.  Then  we  pulled  away  over  to  the 
island,  and  round  underneath  the  shadows  of  its  firs,  and 
back  through  the  clear  moonlight  to  the  small  jetty  of  the 
hotel.  We  entered  the  warm  and  comfortable  building. 
The  folks  who  had  been  dining  had  all  gone  into  the 
drawing-room  ;  but  neither  my  Lady  nor  Bell  seemed  inclined 
to  venture  in  among  the  strangers  ;  and  so  we  procured  a 
private  sitting-room,  in  which,  by  good  luck,  there  was  a 
piano. 

The  Lieutenant  sat  down. 

"  Madame,"  he  said,  "  what  shall  I  play  to  you  ?  It  is 
not  since  that  I  was  at  Twickenham  I  have  touched  a 
piano — oh,  that  is  very  bad  English,  I  know,  but  I  cannot 
help  it." 

"Sing  the  rataplan  song  that  Bell  was  humming  the 
other  day,"  said  Tita.  "  You  two  shaU  sing  it — you  shall 
be  the  old  sergeant,  and  BeU  the  daughter  of  the  regiment." 

"  Yes,  I  can  sing  it,"  he  said  ;  "  but  to  play  it — that  I 
cannot  do.  It  is  too  fine  for  my  thick  fingers." 

And  so  he  gave  way  to  Bell,  who  played  the  accompani- 
ment dexterously  enough,  and  sang  with  a  will.  You 


OF  A  PHAETON.  293 

would  have  fancied  that  the  camp  was  really  her  birthplace, 
and  that  she  was  determined  to  march  with  the  foremost, 
as  the  good  song  says.  The  Lieutenant  had  not  half  the 
martial  ardour  of  this  girl,  who  was  singing  of  fire  and 
destruction,  of  battle  and  sudden  death,  as  though  she  had 
been  the  eldest  daughter  of  one  of  the  kings  of  her  native 
Strathclyde.  And  then,  when  she  had  finished  that 
performance,  it  needed  only  the  least  suggestion  of  the 
Lieutenant  to  get  her  to  sing  Maria's  next  song,  "  Ciascwi 
lo  dice"  so  that  you  would  have  thought  she  had  the  spirit 
of  the  whole  regiment  within  her.  It  is  not  a  proper  song. 
The  brave  Eleventh  was  doubtless  a  very  gallant  regiment ; 
but  why  should  they  have  taught  their  daughter  to  glorify 
their  frightening  of  landlords,  their  flirtations,  their  fierce 
flying  hither  and  thither,  like  the  famous  Jiiger  that 
followed  Hoik  ?  This  is  the  regiment,  Maria  tells  you,  that 
fears  nothing,  but  whom  all  men  fear.  This  is  the  regiment 
beloved  of  women  ;  for  is  not  each  soldier  sure  to  become  a 
Field-Marshal  ?  The  Lieutenant  laughed  at  the  warlike 
glow  of  her  singing,  but  he  was  mightily  pleased,  for  all 
that.  She  was  fit  to  be  a  soldier's  wife — this  girl  with  the 
mantling  colour  in  her  cheek,  and  the  brave  voice  and 
gallant  mien.  With  colours  in  her  cap,  and  a  drum  slung 
round  her  neck — with  all  the  fathers  of  the  regiment 
petting  her,  and  proud  of  her,  and  ready  to  drive  the  soul 
out  of  the  man  who  spoke  a  rude  word  to  her — with  her 
arch  ways,  and  her  frank  bearing,  and  her  loyal  and  loving 
regard  for  the  brave  Eleventh — why,  Bell,  for  the  moment, 
was  really  Maria,  and  as  bright  and  as  fearless  as  any  Maria 
that  ever  sang  "  rataplan  I "  Queen  Tita  was  pleased  too, 
but  she  was  bound  to  play  the  part  of  the  stately 
Marchioness.  With  an  affectionate  pat  on  the  shoulder, 
she  told  Bell  she  mustn't  sing  any  more  of  these  soldier- 
songs  ;  they  were  not  improving  songs.  With  which — just 
as  if  she  had  been  ordered  by  the  Marchioness  to  leave  the 
brave  Eleventh — Bell  began  to  sing  the  plaintive  and 
touching  ".Convien  partir"  Perhaps  we  may  have  heard  it 
better  sung  at  Drury  Lane.  The  song  is  known  in  Covent 
Garden.  But  if  you  had  heard  Bell  sing  it  this  night — 
with  her  lover  sitting  quite  silent  and  embarrassed  through 
shamefaced  pleasure,  and  with  a  glimmer  of  moonlight  on 


294  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

G-rasmere  visible  at  the  open  window — you  might  have 
forgiven  the  girl  for  her  mistakes. 

A  notion  may  have  crossed  my  Lady's  mind  that  it  was 
very  hard  on  Arthur  that  Bell  should  in  his  absence  have 
been  singing  these  soldier-songs  with  so  much'  obvious 
enjoyment.  Was  it  fair  that  this  young  Uhlan  should 
flutter  his  martial  scarlet  and  blue  and  gold  before  the  girl's 
eyes,  and  dazzle  her  with  romantic  pictures  of  a  soldier's 
life  ?  What  chance  had  the  poor  law-student,  coming  out 
from  his  dingy  chambers  in  the  Temple,  with  bewildered 
eyes,  and  pale  face,  and  the  funereal  costume  of  the  ordinary 
English  youth  ?  We  know  how  girls  are  attracted  by  show, 
how  their  hearts  are  stirred  by  the  passing  of  a  regiment 
with  music  playing  and  colours  flying.  The  padded 
uniform  may  enclose  a  nutshell  sort  of  heart,  and  the 
gleaming  helmet  or  the  imposing  busby  may  surmount  the 
feeblest  sort  of  brain  that  could  with  decency  have  been  put 
within  a  human  skull ;  but  what  of  that  ?  Each  featherbed 
warrior  who  rides  from  Knightsbridge  to  Whitehall,  and 
from  Whitehall  to  Knightsbridge,  is  gifted  with  the  glorious 
traditions  of  great  armies  and  innumerable  campaigns  ;  and 
in  a  ball-room  the  ass  in  scarlet  is  a  far  more  attractive 
spectacle  than  the  wise  man  in  black.  Perhaps  Arthur  was 
not  the  most  striking  example  that  might  have  been  got  to 
add  point  to  the  contrast  ;  but  if  any  such  thoughts  were 
running  through  Queen  Tita's  mind,  you  may  be  sure  that 
her  sympathies  were  awakened  for  a  young  man  whose 
chances  of  marrying  Bell  were  becoming  more  and  more 
nebulous.  ' 

And  then  my  Lady  sat  down  to  the  piano,  and 
condescended  to  play  for  us  a  few  pieces,  with  a  precision 
and  a  delicacy  of  fingering  which  were  far  removed  from 
Bell's  performances  in  that  way.  I  suppose  you  young 
fellows  who  read  this  would  have  regarded  with  indifference 
the  dark-eyed  little  matron  who  sat  there  and  unravelled 
the  intricacies  of  the  most  difficult  music.  You  would 
have  kept  all  your  attention  for  the  girl  who  stood  beside 
her  ;  and  you  would  have  preferred  the  wilder  and  less 
finished  playing  of  Bell,  simply  because  she  had  fine  eyes, 
pretty  hair,  a  wholesome  English  pleasantness  and  frank- 
ness, and  a  proud  and  gracious  demeanour.  But  a  few 


OF  A  PHAETON.  295 

years  hence  you  rnay  coine  to  know  better.  You  may  get 
to  understand  the  value  of  the  quiet  and  unobtrusive  ways 
of  a  woman  who  can  look  after  a  household,  and  busy 
herself  with  manifold  charities,  and  bring  up  her  children 
well  and  scrupulously,  and  yet  have  a  tender  smile  for  the 
vagaries  of  young  folks  like  yourselves.  And  then,  if  it  is 
your  excellent  fortune  to  have  with  you  so  gentle  and 
fearless  and  honest  a  companion — if  your  own  life  seems  to 
be  but  the  half  of  the  broader  and  fuller  existence  that 
abides  beneath  your  roof — you  may  do  worse  than  go  down 
on  your  knees  and  thank  God  who  has  blessed  your  home 
with  the  presence  of  a  good  wife  and  a  good  mother. 

Tales  shall  not  be  told  out  of  school.  We  may  have  sat 
a  little  late  that  night.  We  were  harming  no  one  by  so 
doing,  except  ourselves  ;  and  if  our  health  suffered  by  such 
late  hours,  we  were  prepared  to  let  it  suffer.  For  the  fact 
was,  we  drifted  into  talk  about  our  Surrey  belongings  ;  and 
now  these  seemed  so  far  away— and  it  seemed  so  long  since 
we  had  been  there — that  the  most  ordinary  details  of  our 
bygone  life  in  the  south  had  grown  picturesque.  And  from 
that  Tita  began  to  recall  the  names  of  the  people  she  had 
known  in  the  Lake  district,  in  the  old  time,  when  Bell  was 
but  a  girl,  running  about  the  valleys  and  hill-sides  like  a 
young  goat.  That,  too,  carried  us  back  a  long  way,  until 
it  seemed  as  if  we  had  drifted  into  a  new  generation  of 
things  that  knew  nothing  of  the  good  old  times  that  were. 
There  was  a  trifle  of  regret  imported  into  this  con- 
versation— why,  no  one  could  tell  ;  but  when  we  broke  up 
for  the  night,  Tita's  face  was  rather  saddened  ;  and  she  did 
not  follow  Bell  when  the  girl  called  to  her  to  look  at  the 
beautiful  night  outside,  where  the  rapidly-sinking  moon 
had  given  place  to  a  host  of  stars  that  twinkled  over  the 
black  gulf  of  Grasmere. 

It  is  no  wonder  that  lovers  love  the  starlight,  and  the 
infinite  variety  and  beauty  and  silence  of  the  strange 
darkness.  But  folks  who  have  got  beyond  that  period  do 
not  care  so  much  to  meet  the  mystery  and  the  solemnity  of 
the  night.  They  may  have  experiences  they  would  rather 
not  recall.  Who  can  tell  what  bitterness  and  grievous 
heart-wringing  are  associated  with  the  wonderful  peace  and 
majesty  of  the  throbbing  midnight  sky  ?  The  strong  man, 


296  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

with  all  his  strength  fled  from  him,  has  gone  out  in  his 
utter  misery,  and  cried,  "  Oh,  God,  save  my  wife  to  me  !  " 
And  the  young  mother,  with  her  heart  breaking,  has  looked 
up  into  the  great  abyss,  and  cried,  "  Oh,  God,  give  me  back 
my  baby  !  "• — and  all  the  answer  they  have  had  .was  the 
silence  of  the  winds  and  the  faint  and  distant  glimmer  of 
the  stars.  They  do  not  care  any  more  to  meet  the  gaze  of 
those  sad,  and  calm,  and  impenetrable  eyes. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

ARTHUR'S  SONG. 

"  Along  the  grass  sweet  airs  are  blown 

Our  way  this  day  in  Spring. 
Of  all  the  songs  that  we  have  known, 
Now  which  one  shall  we  sing? 
Not  that,  my  love,  ah  no ! — 
Not  this,  my  love?  why,  so! — 
Yet  both  were  ours,  but  hours  will  come  and  go. 


"  The  branches  cross  above  our  eyes, 

The  skies  are  in  a  net: 
And  what's  the  thing  beneath  the  skies 
We  two  would  most  forget? 
Not  birth,  my  love,  no  no — 
Not  death,  my  love,  no  no. 
The  love  once  ours,  but  ours  long  hours  ago." 

WE  stood  at  the  open  window,  my  Lady,  Bell,  and  I, 
with  the  calm  lake  lying  before  us  as  darkly  blue  as  the 
heart  of  a  sapphire,  and  with  the  hills  on  the  other  side 
grown  grey,  and  green,  and  hazy  in  the  morning  sunlight. 
Bell  had  brought  us  thither.  The  Lieutenant  was  outside, 
and  we  could  hear  him  talking  to  some  one,  although  he 
had  no  idea  of  our  presence.  Was  it  fair  to  steal  a  march 
on  the  young  fellow,  and  seek  to  learn  something  of  the 
methods  by  which  he  became  familiarly  acquainted  with 
every  man,  woman,  and  child  we  met  on  our  journey  ?  In 
such  matters  I  look  to  Queen  Tita  for  guidance.  If  she  says 
a  certain  thing  is  proper,  it  is  proper.  And  at  this  moment 
she  was  standing  just  inside  the  curtains,  listening,  with  a 
great  amusement  on  her  face,  to  the  sounds  which  reached 
us  from  below. 


OF  A  PHAETON.  297 

"  Ay,  ah.  wur  born  in  eighteen  runderd — that's  a  long 
time  ago — a  long  time  ago,"  said  a  quavering  old  voice, 
that  was  sometimes  interrupted  by  a  fit  of  asthmatic 
coughing  ;  "  and  you  don't  remember  the  great  comet — the 
comet  of  eighteen  underd  an'  eleven  !  No  !  See  that 
now !  And  ah  wur  a  boy  at  that  time  ;  but  I  can 
remember  the  great  comet  of  eighteen  underd  an'  eleven — 
I  remember  it  well  now — and  ah  wur  born  in  eighteen 
underd.  How  long  ago  is  that  now  ?  " 

"  Why,  that's  easily  counted,"  said  the  Lieutenant ; 
"  that's  seventy-one  years  ago.  But  you  look  as  hale  and 
as  fresh  as  a  man  of  forty." 

"  Seventy-one — ay,  that  it  is — and  you  don't  remember 
the  comet  of  eighteen  underd  an'  eleven  ?  " 

"  No,  I  don't.  But  how  have  you  kept  your  health  and 
your  colour  all  this  time  ?  That  is  the  air  of  the  mountains 
gives  you  this  good  health,  I  suppose." 

"  Lor  bless  ye,  ah  don't  belong  to  these  parts.  No.  Ah 
wur  born  in  the  New  Forest,  in  eighteen  underd — 
Bingwood,  that's  the  place — that's  in  the  New  Forest,  a 
long  way  from  eear.  Do  you  know  Ring  wood  ?  " 

"No." 

"  Nor  Poole  ?  " 

"No." 

"  Lor  bless  ye !  Never  been  to  Poole  !  Do  ye  know 
Southampton  ?  " 

"  No." 

"  Bless  my  soul !  Never  been  to  Poole  ?  There  now  ! 
And  you  don't  know  Southampton,  where  all  the  ships 
are  ? — ay,  a  famous  sight  o'  ships,  I  can  tell  ye.  And 
you've  never  been  to  Southampton — Lor  bless  ye,  you  ain't 
much  of  a  traveller  !  But  there  now,  ain't  you  a  French- 
man ?  " 

"  No." 

"  Go  along  with  ye  1  Not  a  Frenchman  ?  An'  you 
don't  know  Poole  ?  It's  a  big  place,  Poole,  and  ah  reckon 
it's  grown  bigger  now,  for  it's  many  a  year  ago  since  ah 
wur  there.  When  ah  wur  a  boy — that's  many  a  year  ago — • 
for  ah  remember  well  the  great  comet,  in  eighteen  underd 
an'  eleven — you  don't  remember  that  ?  No  !  God  bless 
my  soul,  you're  only  a  boy  yet — and  ah  wur  born  seventy 


298  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

year  ago — and  when  ah  went  up  to  Lunnon,  ah  wur  such  a 
simple  chap  !  " 

We  could  hear  the  old  man  laughing  and  chuckling, 
until  a  fit  of  coughing  seized  him,  and  then  he  pro- 
ceeded : — • 

"Ah  wur  taking  a  bridle  down  to  my  mahster,  and 
what's  the  bridge  you  go  over?  Dear  me,  dear  me!  my 
memory  isn't  as  good  as  it  once  was— 

And  at  this  point  the  old  man  stopped,  and  puzzled,  and 
hesitated  about  the  name  of  the  bridge,  until  the 
Lieutenant  besought  him  never  to  mind  that,  but  to  go  on 
with  his  story.  But  no.  He  would  find  out  the  name  of 
the  bridge  ;  and  after  having  repeated  twenty  times  that  he 
was  born  in  1800,  and  could  remember  the  comet  of  1811, 
he  hit  upon  the  name  of  Blackfriars. 

"  An'  there  wur  a  chap  standin'  there,  as  come  up  to  me 
and  asked  me  if  I  would  buy  a  silk  handkerchief  from  him. 
He  had  two  of  'em — Lor  bless  ye,  you  don't  know  what 
rare  good  handkerchiefs  we  had  then— white,  you  know,  wi' 
blue  spots  on  'em — they're  all  gone  out  now,  for  it's  many  a 
year  ago.  And  that  chap  he  thought  ah'd  bin  sellin'  a  oss  ; 
and  he  made  up  to  me,  and  he  took  me  into  a  small  public- 
'ouse,  close  by,  and  says  he,  '  Ah'll  be  sworn  a  smart  young 
fellow  like  you'll  'ave  a  tidy  bit  o'  money  in  your  pocket.' 
An'  ah  wur  a  smart  young  fellow  then,  as  he  said,  but,  God 
bless  ye,  that's  many  a  year  a^go  ;  an'  now,  would  you 
believe  it,  that  chap  got  five  shiliins  out  o'  me  for  two  of 
his  handkerchiefs — he  did  indeed,  as  sure  as  I'm  alive. 
Wasn't  it  a  shame  to  take  in  a  poor  country  chap  as  wur  up 
doing  a  job  for  his  mahster  ?  " 

"Five  shillings  for  two  silk  handkerchiefs  with  blue 
spots  ?  "  said  the  Lieutenant.  "  Why,  it  was  you  who  did 
swindle  that  poor  man  !  It  is  you  that  should  be  ashamed. 
And  you  took  away  the  bridle  safe  ?  " 

"  Ay,  ah  wur  goin'  down  to  Winchester.  Do  ye  know 
Winchester  ?  " 

"  No." 

"  Ha,  ha,  ha  !  Ah  thought  not  !  No,  nor  Poole  ? 
Have  you  ever  been  to  Bristol — there  now  !  " 

"  My  dear  friend,  there  are  few  men  so  great  travellers  as 
you  have  been.  You  should  not  boast  of  it." 


OF  A  PHAETON.  299 

"  But,  Lor  bless  ye,  don't  ye  know  the  ships  at  Poole  ? 
And  Winchester — that's  a  fine  town,  too,  is  Winchester. 
Ah'd  a  month  at  Winchester  when  ah  wur  a  young  man." 

"  A  month  !     What  do  you  mean  by  that  ?  " 

"  Yes,  that  ah  did.  Lor,  they  were  far  stricter  then  than 
they  are  now." 

"  But  what  was  this  month  you  are  speaking  about  ?  " 

"  Don't  ye  know  what  a  month  in  jail  is  for  ketchin  a 
rabbit  ?  " 

"  Oh,  it  was  a  rabbit,  was  it  ?  " 

The  wicked  old  man  laughed  and  chuckled  again. 

"  Ay,"  said  he,  "  ah  got  one  month  for  ketchin  one 
rabbit,  but  if  they'd  'ave  gi'en  me  a  month  for  every  rabbit 
and  hare  as  ah've  ketched,  Lor  ibless  ye  ! — you  young 
fellows  now-a-days  know  nothin' !  You're  simple  chaps, 
that's  what  it  is  !  Have  you  ever  heard  of  the  great  comet 
of  eighteen  underd  an'  eleven  ?  There  now !  And  the 
crowds  as  come  out  to  see  it — stretchin'  out — long — jest  as 
it  might  be  the  long  gown  as  mothers  put  on  young  things 
when  they're  carried  about — and  that  wur  in  eighteen 
underd  an'  eleven.  But  I'm  gettin'  old  now,  and  stiff — 
and  them  rheumatics  they  do  trouble  one  so  when  they 
come  on  bad  in  the  night-time.  I'm  not  what  I  was  at 
your  age — you'll  be  thirty  now,  or  forty  mayhap  ?  " 

"Not  thirty  yet." 

"  Ah  never  'ad  so  much  hair  as  you — it  wur  never  the 
fashion  to  wear  hair  on  the  face  at  that  time." 

"  And  you  followed  the  fashion,  of  course,  when  you  were 
a  young  fellow,  and  went  courting  the  girls.  Yes  ?  " 

The  hint  seemed  to  wake  up  the  old  man  into  a  high 
state  of  glee  ;  and  as  he  began  to  tell  of  his  exploits  in  this 
line,  he  introduced  so  many  unnecessary  ejaculations 
into  his  talk  that  my  Lady  somewhat  hastily  withdrew, 
dragging  Bell  with  her.  The  old  rogue  outside  might  have 
been  with  our  army  in  Flanders,  to  judge  by  the  force  of 
his  conversation ;  and  the  stories  that  he  told  of  his  wild 
adventures  in  such  distant  regions  as  Poole  and  Southampton 
showed  that  his  memory  treasured  other  recollections  than 
that  of  the  1811  comet.  How  the  interview  ended  I 
do  not  know  ;  but  by  and  by  von  Rosen  came  in  to 
breakfast. 


300  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

It  is  a  shame  for  two  women  to  have  a  secret  under- 
standing between  them,  and  look  as  if  they  could  scarcely 
keep  from  smiling,  and  puzzle  a  bashful  young  man  by 
enigmatical  questions. 

"  Madame,"  said  the  Lieutenant,  at  last,  "I  am  very 
stupid.  I  cannot  make  out  what  you  mean." 

"  And  neither  can  she,"  interposed  one  who  hates  to  see 
a  worthy  young  man  bothered  by  two  artful  women.  "  Her 
joke  is  like  the  conundrum  that  was  so  good  that  the  man 
who  made  it,  after  trying  for  two  years  and  a  half  to  find 
out  jwhat  it  meant,  gave  it  up  and  cut  his  throat.  Don't 
you  heed  them.  Fetch  the  salad,  like  a  good  fellow,  and  let 
Bell  put  in  the  oil,  and  the  vinegar,  and  what  not.  Now, 
if  that  girl  would  only  take  out  a  patent  for  her  salad- 
dressing,  we  should  all  be  rolling  in  wealth  directly." 

"  I  should  call  it  the  Nebuchadnezzar,"  said  Bell. 

My  Lady  pretended  not  to  hear  that  remark,  but  she  was 
very  angry  ;  and  all  desire  of  teasing  the  Lieutenant  had 
departed  from  her  face,  which  was  serious  and  reserved. 
Young  people  must  not  play  pranks  with  Scripture  names, 
in  however  innocent  a  fashion. 

"  It  is  a  very  good  thing  to  have  salad  at  breakfast,"  said 
the  Lieutenant ;  "  although  it  is  not  customary  in  your 
country.  It  is  very  fresh,  very  pleasant,  very  wholesome  in 
the  morning.  Now,  if  one  were  to  eat  plenty  of  salad, 
and  live  in  this  good  mountain  air,  one  might  live  a  long 
time " 

"  One  might  live  to  remember  the  comet  of  eighteen 
underd  an'  eleven,"  observed  Bell,  with  her  eyes  cast 
down. 

The  Lieutenant  stared  for  a  moment ;  and  then  he  burst 
into  a  roar  of  laughter. 

"  I  have  discovered  the  joke,"  he  cried.  "  It  is  that  you 
did  listen  to  that  old  man  talking  to  me.  Oh,  he  was  a 
very  wicked  old  person " 

And  here,  all  at  once,  von  Rosen  stopped.  A  great  flush 
of  red  sprung  to  the  young  fellow's  face — he  was  evidently 
contemplating  with  dismay  the  possibility  of  my  Lady 
having  overheard  all  the  dragoon-language  of  the  old 
man. 

"  We  heard  only  up  to  a  certain  point,"  says  Madame, 


OF  A  PHAETON.  301 

sedately.  "  When  he  began  to  be  excited,  Bell  and  I  with- 
drew." 

The  Lieutenant  was  greatly  relieved.  The  septuagenarian 
was  not  a  nice  person  for  ladies  to  listen  to.  Indeed,  in 
one  direction  he  was  amply  qualified  to  have  written  a 
"  Dialogue  between  a  Man  and  a  Cat :  being  a  discussion  as 
to  tvhich  would  like  to  use  the  most  bad  language  when  the 
tail  of  the  latter  is  trodden  upon"  Such  an  essay  would  be 
instructive  in  results,  but  objectionable  in  tone. 

All  this  while  we  had  heard  nothing  of  Arthur.  That 
morning  when  Tita  sent  down  to  inquire  if  there  were  any 
letters  for  us  at  the  post-office  and  found  there  were  none, 
she  must  needs  send  an  urgent  telegram  to  Twickenham,  to 
see  if  the  young  man's  parents  knew  anything  of  his  where- 
abouts. Of  course  they  could  not  possibly  know.  Doubt- 
less he  was  on  his  way  to  Carlisle.  Perhaps  we  should  have 
the  pleasure  of  meeting  him  in  Edinburgh. 

But  this  indefinite  postponement  of  the  coming  of  Arthur 
was  a  grievous  irritation  to  the  Lieutenant.  It  was  no 
relief  to  him  that  his  rival  was  disposed  to  remain  absent. 
The  very  odd  position  in  which  he  was  now  placed  made 
him  long  for  any  result  that  would  put  an  end  to  his  sus- 
pense ;  and  1  think  he  was  as  anxious  about  seeing  Arthur 
as  any  of  us — that  is  to  say,  presuming  Arthur  to  be  certain 
to  come  sooner  or  later.  If  it  should  happen  that  the  dog- 
cart had  been  upset — but  there  is  no  use  in  speculating  on 
the  horrible  selfishness  that  enters  into  the  hearts  of  young 
men  who  are  in  love  and  jealous. 

All  these  things  and  many  more  the  young  Prussian 
revealed  to  the  sympathetic  silence  of  Grasmere  and  the  fair 
green  mountains  around,  as  he  and  I  set  out  for  a  long  walk. 
The  women  had  gone  to  pay  visits  in  the  village  and  its 
neighbourhood.  It  seemed  a  pity  to  waste  so  beautiful  a 
day  in  going  into  a  series  of  houses ;  but  my  Lady  was 
inexorable  whenever  she  established  to  her  own  satisfaction 
that  she  owed  a  certain  duty. 

The  Lieutenant  bade  Bell  good-bye  with  a  certain  sadness 
in  his  tone.  He  watched  them  go  down  the  white  road,  in 
the  glare  of  the  sunshine  ;  and  then  he  turned  with  a  listless 
air  to  set  out  on  his  pilgrimage  into  the  hills.  Of  what 
avail  was  it  that  the  lake  out  there  shone  a  deep  and  calm 


302  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

azure  under  the  clear  sky  ;  that  the  reflection  of  the  wooded 
island  was  perfect  on  the  perfect  mirror ;  and  that  the  far 
hills  had  drawn  around  them  a  thin  tremulous  veil  of  silver 
gauze  under  the  strong  heat  of  the  sun  ?  The  freshness  of 
the  morning — when  a  light  breeze  blew  over  from  the  west, 
and  stirred  the  reeds  of  the  lake,  and  awoke  a  white  ripple 
in  by  the  shore — had  no  effect  in  brightening  up  his  face. 
He  was  so  busy  talking  of  Bell,  and  of  Arthur,  and  of  my 
Lady,  that  it  was  with  a  serene  unconsciousness  he  allowed 
himself  to  be  led  away  from  the  lake  into  the  lonely  regions 
of  the  hills. 

Even  a  hardy  young  Uhlan  finds  his  breath  precious  when 
he  is  climbing  a  steep  green  slope,  scrambling  up  shelves  of 
loose  earth  and  slate,  and  clinging  on  to  bushes  to  help  him 
in  his  ascent.  There  were  interruptions  in  this  flow  of 
lovers'  complainings.  After  nearly  an  hour's  climbing,  von 
Eosen  had  walked  and  talked  Bell  out  of  his  head  ;  and  as 
he  threw  himself  on  a  slope  of  Rydal  Fell,  and  pulled  out  a 
flask  of  sherry  and  his  cigar-case,  he  laughed  aloud,  and 
said — • 

"  No,  I  had  no  notion  we  were  so  high.  Hee  !  that  is  a 
view — one  does  not  see  that  often  in  my  country — all  houses 
and  men  swept  away — you  are  alone  in  the  world — and  all 
around  is  nothing  but  mountains  and  lakes." 

Indeed,  there  was  away  towards  the  south  a  network  of 
hill  and  water  that  no  one  but  Bell  could  have  picked  to 
pieces  for  us — thin  threads  of  silver  lying  in  long  valleys, 
and  mounds  upon  mounds  rising  up  into  the  clear  blue  sky 
that  sloped  down  to  the  white  line  of  the  sea.  Coniston  we 
could  make  out ;  and  Windermere  we  knew.  Esthwaite  we 
guessed  at ;  but  of  what  avail  was  guessing,  when  we  came 
to  that  wild  and  beautiful  panorama  beyond  ? 

The  Lieutenant's  eyes  went  back  to  Grasmere. 

"  How  long  is  it  you  think  Madame  will  pay  her  visits  ?  " 

"  Till  the  afternoon,  probably.  They  will  lunch  with 
some  of  their  friends." 

"  And  we — do  we  climb  any  more  mountains  ?  " 

"  This  is  not  a  mountain — it  is  a  hill.  We  shall  climb  or 
go  down  again,  just  as  you  please." 

"  There  is  nothing  else  to  do  but  to  wait  if  we  go 
down  ?  " 


OF  A  PHAETON.  303 

"  I -suppose  you  mean  waiting  for  the  ladies  to  return — no  ; 
our  going  down  won't  bring  them  back  a  minute  the  sooner." 

"  Then — let  us  go  on,  anywhere." 

We  had  a  long,  aimless,  and  devious  wandering  that  day 
among  the  grassy  slopes  and  peaks  of  Rydal  Fell,  until  we 
at  length  came  down  by  the  gorge  through  which  Eydal 
Beck  plunges  foaming  into  the  valley  below.  Wherever  we 
went,  the  Lieutenant  seemed  chiefly  to  be  concerned  in 
making  out  the  chief  places  of  beauty  which  we  should 
bring  the  women  to  see  on  the  morrow — as  if  Bell  did  not 
know  Rydal  Beck  and  all  its  falls  as  well  as  she  knew  Walton 
Heath.  And  then  we  got  down  the  winding  road  by  Rydal 
Mount,  and  walked  leisurely  back  by  Rydal  Water  to  Grasmere. 

What  was  this  that  confronted  us  as  we  went  into  the 
hotel,  and  went  forward  to  the  large  windows  ?  The  sun 
was  shining  on  the  hills,  and  on  the  lake,  and  on  the  garden 
in  front  of  us  ;  and  on  the  lawn — which  was  a  blaze  of 
bright  colour  —  three  figures  stood,  throwing  jet-black 
shadows  .on  the  green.  Yon  Rosen  stared,  as  well  he 
might  stare.  For  there  were  Bell  and  Tita,  engaged  in 
earnest  and  interesting  talk  with  a  young  man ;  and  the 
young  man  was  Arthur. 

For  a  second  or  two  the  Lieutenant  did  not  utter  a  word  ; 
but  presently  he  remarked,  with  a  fine  affectation  of  care- 
lessness— 

"  Have  they  had  lunch,  do  you  think  ?  " 

"  Let  us  go  and  see,"  I  answered  him  ;  whereupon  our 
Uhlan  stalked  gloomily  out  into  the  garden. 

Our  appearance  seemed  to  cause  great  embarrassment  to 
the  party  on  the  lawn.  Arthur,  with  a  flush  on  his  face, 
greeted  us  stiffly ;  and  then  he  suddenly  turned  to  Queen 
Tita,  and  continued  his  talk  with  her  in  an  ostentatiously 
impressive  manner,  as  though  he  would  give  us  to  under- 
stand that  he  would  take  no  more  notice  of  us.  Bell, 
apparently,  had  been  rather  left  out  in  the  cold.  Perhaps 
she  was  a  little  vexed — for  even  the  most  amiable  of  girls 
have  their  notions  of  pride  ;  and  so  what  must  she  do  but 
immediately  turn  to  the  Lieutenant  and  ask  him  with  much 
friendliness  all  about  his  morning's  ramble. 

If  thankfulness,  and  kindliness,  and  all  the  modest  and 
grateful  respect  of  love  were  ever  written  on  a  young  man's 


304  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

face,  they  dwelt  in  the  eyes  of  our  Uhlan  as  he  was  almost 
struck  dumb  by  this  signal  mark  of  Bell's  condescension. 
He  took  no  great  advantage  of  the  permission  accorded  to 
him.  He  did  not  seek  to  draw  her  away.  In  fact,  after 
telling  Mademoiselle,  with  averted  glance,  that  he  hoped 
she  would  come  next  day  to  see  all  that  we  had  seen,  he 
placed  the  burden  of  explanation  on  me,  who  would  rather 
have  sat  in  the  back  benches  and  looked  from  a  distance  at 
this  perplexing  comedy. 

But  the  effect  upon  Arthur  of  this  harmless  conduct  of 
Bell's  was  what  might  have  been  expected.  When  we  turned 
to  go  into  the  hotel  for  luncheon,  he  was  talking  in  rather  a 
loud  way,  with  a  fine  assumption  of  cynicism.  He  had  not 
much  to  tell  of  his  adventures  ;  for  the  reason  of  his  being 
delayed  was  merely  that  the  cob  had  gone  a  little  lame, 
and  had  been  brought  with  some  care  to  Kendal,  where  it 
was  to  have  a  couple  of  days'  rest  ;  but  his  conversation  took 
far  wider  sweeps  than  that.  The  climax  of  it  came  when 
we  were  sitting  at  table.  All  this  time  the  lad  had  not 
addressed  a  word  to  Bell ;  but  now  he  suddenly  observed — 

"  You  remember  that  song  of  Lover's  you  used  to  sing, 
about  the  white  sails  flowing  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  Bell — she  had  often  sung  it  to  him  at  his 
own  request. 

"  It  -is  a  pretty  song,"  said  he,  with  rather  a  ghastly 
smile  ;  "  but  I  heard  a  version  of  it  the  other  night  that  I 
thought  was  a  good  deal  truer.  Shall  I  try  to  repeat  the 
verses  ?  " 

"  Yes,  do,"  said  Queen  Titania,  with  no  great  cordiality 
in  her  tone.  She  half  anticipated  what  was  coming. 

"  This  is  the  first  verse,"  said  the  young  man,  glancing 
rather  nervously  at  Bell,  and  then  instantly  withdrawing 
his  eyes  : — 

"  What  will  you  do,  love,  when  I  am  going, 

"With  white  sails  flowing,  the  seas  beyond? 

What  will  you  do,  love,  when  waves  divide  us, 

And  friends  may  chide  us,  for  being  fond?" 

"  When  waves  divide  us,  and  friends  are  chiding, 

Afar  abiding,  I'll  think  anew ; 
And  I'll  take  another  devoted  lover, 
And  I'll  kiss  him  as  I  kissed  you." 


OF  A  PHAETON,  305 

A  frightful  silence  prevailed.  We  all  of  us  knew  that 
the  reckless  young  man  was  rushing  on  self-destruction. 
Could  he  have  devised  a  more  ingenious  method  of  insulting 
Bell  ?  He  proceeded — •  \ 

"  What  will  you  do,  love,  if  distant  tidings 
Thy  fond  confidings  should  undermine  ? 
And  I  abiding  'neath  sultry  skies 
;*"  Should  think  other  eyes  were  as  bright  as  thine? 

"  Ah,  joyful  chance  !     If  guilt  or  shame 

Were  round  thy  name,  could  I  be  true  ? 
For  I'd  take  the  occasion,  without  much  persuasion, 
To  have  another  flirtation — that's  what  I'd  do." 

If  there  are  angels  who  watch  over  the  fortunes  of 
unhappy  lovers,  surely  they  must  have  wept  at  this  moment. 
These  foolish  verses — and  another  one  which  fear  of  my 
Lady  prevents  my  publishing  here — were  the  actual  out- 
come of  all  the  rebellious  thoughts  that  had  been  rankling 
in  his  mind  like  poison  during  these  last  few  days.  Along 
the  lonely  highway,  this  was  the  devil's  dirge  he  had  been 
crooning  to  himself.  He  had  fed  on  its  unholy  bitterness 
as  he  sat  in  remote  inns,  and  pictured  to  himself,  with  a 
fierce  satisfaction,  the  scene  in  which  he  would  recite  the 
lines  to  Bell,  before  the  whole  of  us. 

And  now  the  deed  was  done.  He  remained  silent 
for  a  moment ;  and  we  also  were  silent.  A  waiter  said, 
"  Sherry,  sir  ?  "  behind  his  ear,  and  he  started.  And  then 
Queen  Tita  turned  to  von  Rosen,  and  asked  him  if  he  had 
seen  Rydal  Mount. 

It  was  a  pitiable  thing.  In  public  life  a  man  may  force 
himself  into  the  Chancellorship  of  the  Exchequer,  or  some 
such  office,  by  departing  into  a  Cave  of  Adullam  and 
marshalling  the  discontented  around  him  ;  but  in  love 
affairs,  how  is  a  man  to  profit  by  an  exhibition  of  angry 
passion  and  recklessness  ?  Force  is  of  no  avail  ;  threatening 
is  as  idle  as  the  wind.  And  there  was  something  even  more 
cruel  than  threatening  in  this  recitation  of  the  young 
man's,  as  only  those  who  were  familiar  with  our  life  in 
Surrey  could  understand.  What  might  come  of  it  no  one 
could  tell. 

[Note  by  Queen  Titania.—"!  am  no  judge  of  what  ought  to  be 
placed  before  the  public— I  leave  that  to  those  whose  sense  of  good 

X 


3o6  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

taste  and  proper  feeling  is  probably  better  than  mine.  But  if  these 
most  impertinent  verses  are  to  be  published,  I  have  to  say  that  the 
implication  contained  in  the  first  verse  is  cruelly  false.  To  hint  that 
Bell  could  have  thought  of  kissing  either  Arthur  or  the  Lieutenant— or 
would  have  done  so  if  they  were  Princes  of  the  Blood — is  most  unjust 
and  insulting  to  a  girl  whose  pride  and  self-respect  no  one  has  ever 
dared  to  impeach.  It  is  all  very  well  for  a  stupid  young  man  to  say 
such  things  in  a  fit  of  ungovernable  rage ;  but  what  I  know  is  that 
Bell  cried  very  much  about  it,  when  she  spoke  to  me  about  it  after- 
wards. And  both  my  husband  and  Count  von  Eosen  sat  still,  and 
never  said  a  word.  If  I  had  been  a  man,  I  think  I  should  have  told 
Arthur  very  plainly  what  I  thought  of  his  very  pretty  conduct.  But  I 
suppose  they  considered  it  a  jest ;  for  I  have  frequently  found  that 
the  notions  of  gentlemen  about  what  is  humorous  are  a  little 
peculiar."] 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

ARMAGEDDON. 

"  Let  us  go  hence,  my  songs ;  she  will  not  hear. 
Let  us  go  hence  together  without  fear; 
Keep  silence  now,  for  singing-time  is  over, 
And  over  all  old  things  and  all  things  dear. 
She  loves  not  you  nor  me  as  all  we  love  hor. 
Yea,  though  we  sang  as  angels  in  her  car, 
She  would  not  hear." 

BLOW,  wind,  and  shriek,  tempests  !  Let  all  the  gases  be 
lowered,  and  thunder  roll  through  the  gloom  !  Tremble, 
ye  forests  of  canvas,  where  twisted  oaks  and  shattered  elms 
bear  witness  to  the  agony  of  the  scene ;  and  let  the  low 
music  of  the  violoncello  and  the  throbbing  of  muffled  drums 
announce  that  dreadful  deeds  are  brewing  !  Alas  !  we  had 
no  such  thrilling  accompaniments  to  the  tragedy  being 
enacted  before  our  eyes  on  the  fair  shores  of  Grasmere. 
The  lake  lay  as  blue  and  as  calm  as  though  no  perplexed 
and  suffering  human  souls  were  by  its  side  ;  and  instead  of 
the  appropriate  darkness  of  a  theatre,  we  had  the  far  hills 
trembling  under  the  pale  haze  of  the  mid-day  heat.  Yet 
my  Lady  saw  none  of  these  things.  Her  heart  was  rent 
asunder  by  the  troubles  of  the  young  folks  under  her 
charge  ;  until  I  seemed  to  read  in  her  speechless  eyes  a  sort 
of  despairing  wish  that  she  had  never  been  born. 

"  And  yet,"  I  say  to  her,  "  you  don't  see  the  worst  of  it. 


Of  A  PHAETON.  307 

If  Arthur  is  driven  away  by  Bell,  a  far  more  terrible  thing 
will  befall  him." 

"What?"  says  Queen  Titania,  with  the  clear,  brown 
eyes  grown  solemn. 

"  He  will  marry  somebody  else." 

"  Bah !  "  she  says  peevishly.  "  Is  this  a  time  to  be 
thinking  of  jests  ?  " 

"  Indeed,  I  know  one  who  never  discovered  the  joke  of 
it.  But  don't  you  think  that  he  will  ?  " 

"  I  wish  he  would." 

"  There's  little  Katty  Tatham,  now,  would  give  her  ears 
to  marry  him." 

"  You  always  fancy  girls  are  very  anxious  to  marry." 

'  I  never  asked  but  one,  and  I  found  her  ready  enough." 

'  I  refused  you." 

*  You  made  a  pretence  of  doing  so." 

1 1  wish  I  had  kept  to  my  first  resolution." 

'  I  wish  you  had,  since  you  say  so.  But  that's  of  no 
consequence.  I  saved  you  from  committing  suicide,  as  I 
have  frequently  told  you." 

The  small  creature  looks  up,  and  with  an  excellent 
calmness  and  self -composure,  says — 

"  I  suppose  you  never  heard  of  a  young  man — I  thought 
him  very  silly  at  the  time,  myself — who  walked  about  all 
night,  one  night  at  Eastbourne  ;  and  in  the  morning — long 
before  my  mamma  was  up — aroused  the  servants,  and  sent 
in  a  letter — a  sort  of  ultimatum  it  was — with  all  sorts  of 
vows  of  vengeance  and  despair.  That  young  man  wasn't 
Arthur  Ashburton ;  but  when  you  complain  of  Arthur's 

mad  follies " 

"Madam,"  I  say  to  her,  "your  sex  protects  you.  Go 
and  live.  But  when  you  say  that  /  complain  of  Arthur, 
and  in  the  next  breath  accuse  me  of  always  bringing 

forward  excuses  for  him " 

But  what  is  the  use  of  continuing  the  argument  ?  My 
Lady  smiles  with  a  fine  air  of  triumph,  confident  that  her 
ingenious  logic  has  carried  the  day,  as,  in  fact,  it  generally 
does.  The  man  who  endeavours  to  follow,  seize,  and 
confront  the  airy  statements  made  by  a  lady  in  a  difficulty 
resembles  nothing  so  much  as  a  railway-train  trying  to 
catch  a  butterfly  ;  and  who  would  not  back  the  butterfly  ? 

x  2 


3o8  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

We  were  now  placed  in  an  uncommonly  awkward  fix. 
The  arrival  of  Arthur  at  Grasmere  had  produced  a 
complication  such  as  we  had  not  dreamt  of  ;  for  now  it 
appeared  as  if  the  situation  were  to  be  permanent.  We  had 
somehow  fancied  that,  as  soon  as  he  overtook  us,  some 
definite  arrangement  would  be  come  to,  settling  at  once  and 
for  ever  those  rival  pretensions  which  were  interfering  with 
our  holiday  in  a  serious  manner.  At  last,  my  Lady  had 
considered,  the  great  problem  was  to  be  finally  solved  ;  and, 
of  course,  the  solution  lay  in  Bell's  hands.  But,  now 
Arthur  had  come,  who  was  to  move  in  the  matter  ?  It  was 
not  for  Bell,  at  all  events,  to  step  forward  and  say  to  one 
of  the  young  men  "  Go  ! "  and  to  the  other  "  Stay  !  " 
Neither  of  them,  on  the  other  hand,  seemed  disposed  to  do 
anything  bold  and  heroic  in  order  to  rid  us  of  this  grievous 
embarrassment ;  and  so  the  first  afternoon  passed  away — 
with  some  more  walking,  visiting,  and  boating — in  a 
stolidly  and  hopelessly  reserved  and  dreary  fashion. 

But  every  one  of  us  knew  that  a  mine  lay  close  by,  and 
that  at  any  moment  a  match  might  be  flung  into  it.  Every 
word  that  was  uttered  was  weighed  beforehand.  As  for 
Tita,  the  poor  little  woman  was  growing  quite  pale  and 
fatigued  with  her  constant  and  nervous  anxiety  ;  until  one 
of  the  party  privately  told  her  that  if  no  one  else  asked  Bell 
to  marry,  he  would  himself,  and  so  end  our  troubles. 

"  I  don't  know  what  to  do,"  she  said,  sitting  down  and 
folding  her  hands  on  her  knees,  while  there  was  quite  a 
pitiable  expression  on  her  face.  "  I  am  afraid  to  leave 
them  for  a  moment.  Perhaps  now  they  may  be  fighting — 
but  that  does  not  much  matter,  for  Bell  can't  have  gone 
downstairs  to  dinner  yet.  Don't  you  think  you  could  get 
Arthur  to  go  away  ?  " 

"  Of  what  use  would  that  be  ?  He  went  away  before  ; 
and  then  we  had  our  steps  dogged,  and  letters  and  telegrams 
in  every  town.  No  ;  let  us  have  it  out  here." 

"  I  wish  you  and  he  would  have  it  out  between  you. 
That  poor  girl  is  being  frightened  to  death." 

"  Say  but  one  brief  word,  my  dear,  and  Arthur  will  be 
feeding  the  fishes  among  the  reeds  of  Grasmere  before  the 
morning.  But  would  you  really  like  Bell  to  send  Arthur 
off  ?  Is  he  really  to  be  told  that  she  won't  marry  him  ? 


OF  A  PHAETON.  309 

They  used  to  be  pets  of  yours.  I  have  seen  you  regard 
them,  as  they  walked  before  us  along  the  lanes,  with  an 
amiable  and  maternal  smile.  Is  it  all  over  ?  Would  you 
like  him  to  go  away  and  never  see  us  any  more  ?  " 

"  Oh,  I  don't  know,"  cries  Tita,  with  the  anxiety  and 
pity  and  tenderness  in  her  eyes  almost  grown  into  tears. 

That  was  a  nice  .little  project  of  hers  with  which  we  had 
started  from  the  old  tavern  in  Holborn.  It  had  been 
tolerably  successful.  If  Bell  were  not  in  love  with  the 
Lieutenant,  there  could  be  no  doubt,  at  least,  that  the 
Lieutenant  was  hopelessly  and  over  head  and  ears  in  love 
with  Bell.  It  was  a  pretty  comedy  for  a  time  ;  and  my 
Lady  had  derived  an  infinite  pleasure  and  amusement  from 
watching  the  small  and  scarcely  perceptible  degrees  by 
which  the  young  folks  got  drawn  towards  each  other. 
What  would  have  been  the  beautiful  pictures  of  English 
scenery  we  had  driven  through  without  two  young  lovers 
in  the  foreground,  trying  to  read  their  fate  in  each  other's 
eyes,  and  affording  us  elderly  folks  all  manner  of  kindly  and 
comic  reminiscences  ? 

It  had  all  turned  out  very  well ;  until,  suddenly,  came 
the  revelation  that  the  greatest  happiness  of  the  greatest 
number  had  exacted  a  human  victim ;  and  here  he  was 
before  us,  with  gory  locks  and  beseeching  eyes,  demanding 
justice.  Never  before  had  my  Lady  fully  realized  what  was 
meant  in  the  final  sending  away  of  Arthur  ;  and  now  that 
she  saw  before  her  all  the  consequences  of  her  schemes,  she 
was  struck  to  the  heart,  and  dared  scarcely  ask  for  some 
re-assurance  as  to  what  she  had  done. 

"  Oh,"  she  says,  "  I  hope  I  have  done  right." 

"  You  !  Why  should  you  assume  any  responsibility  ? 
Let  the  young  folks  arrange  their  own  affairs  as  they  like 
best.  Do  you  think,  if  Bell  had  been  willing  to  break  with 
Arthur,  that  your  packing  off  the  Lieutenant  to  Germany 
would  prevent  her  making  the  acquaintance  of  some  other 
man  ?  And  she  has  not  broken  off  with  Arthur.  If  she 
does  so,  she  does  so,  and  there's  an  end  of  it  ;  but  why 
should  you  vex  yourself  about  it  ?  " 

She  was  not  to  be  comforted.  She  shook  her  head,  and 
continued  to  sit  there  with  her  eyes  full  of  anxious  concern. 
When  at  length  she  went  off  to  dress  hastily  for  dinner,  it 


310  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

was  with  a  determination  that  from  this  moment  she  would 
endeavour  to  help  Arthur  in  every  way  she  could.  That 
was  the  form  her  repentance  took. 

If  the  young  man  had  only  known  that  he  had  secured 
such  a  valuable  ally  !  But  just  at  this  time — amid  all  our 
perplexity  as  to  who  should  first  precipitate  matters — what 
should  the  reckless  fellow  do  but  startle  us  all  with  a 
declaration  which  wholly  altered  the  aspect  of  affairs  ! 

"We  were  seated  at  dinner.  It  was  in  the  private  room 
we  had  engaged  ;  and  the  evening  light,  reflected  from  the 
lake  outside,  was  shining  upon  Tita's  gentle  face  as  she  sat 
at  the  head  of  the  table.  Bell  was  partly  in  shadow.  The 
two  young  men,  by  some  fatal  mischance,  sat  next  each 
other ;  probably  because  neither  wished  to  take  the  unfair 
advantage  offered  by  the  empty  seat  next  to  Bell. 

Well,  something  had  occurred  to  stir  up  the  smouldering 
fires  of  Arthur's  wrath.  He  had  been  treated  with  great 
and  even  elaborate  courtesy  by  everybody — but  more 
particularly  by  Bell — during  our  afternoon  rambles  ;  but 
something  had  evidently  gone  wrong.  There  was  a  scowl 
on  the  fair  and  handsome  face,  that  was  naturally  pleasant, 
boyish,  and  agreeable  in  appearance.  He  maintained  a 
strict  silence  for  some  little  time  after  dinner  was  served, 
although  my  Lady  strove  to  entice  him  into  the  general 
talk.  But  presently  he  looked  up,  and,  addressing  her,  said 
in  a  forcibly  merry  way — • 

"  Should  you  like  to  be  startled  ?  " 

"  Yes,  please"  Tita  would  probably  have  said — so  anxious 
is  she  to  humour  everybody  ;  but  just  then  he  added,  in  the 
same  reckless  and  defiant  tone — 

"  What  if  I  tell  you  I  am  going  to  get  married  ?  " 

An  awful  consternation  fell  upon  us. 

"  Oh,"  said  my  Lady,  in  a  hurried  fashion,  "  you  are 
joking,  Arthur."  ' 

"  No,  I  am  not.  And  when  I  present  the  young  lady  to 
you,  you  will  recognise  an  old  friend  of  yours,  whom  you 
haven't  seen  for  years." 

To  put  these  words  down  on  paper  can  give  no  idea  what- 
ver  of  the  ghastly  appearance  of  jocularity  which  accom- 
panied them,  nor   of  the  perfectly  stunning  effect  they 
produced.    The  women  were  appalled  into  silence.    Yon 


OF  A  PHAETON.  311 

Eosen  stared,  and  indifferently  played  with  the  stem  of  his 
wine-glass.  For  mere  charity's  sake,  I  was  driven  into 
filling  up  this  horrible  vacuum  of  silence  ;  and  so  I  asked 
—with  what  show  of  appropriateness  married  people  may 
judge — -whether  he  had  formed  any  plans  for  the  buying  of 
furniture. 

Furniture  !  'Tis  an  excellent  topic.  Everybody  can  say 
something  about  it.  Queen  Titania,  with  a  flash  of  gratitude 
in  her  inmost  soul,  seized  upon  the  cue,  and  said — 

"  Oh,  Arthur,  have  you  seen  our  sideboard  ?  " 

Now,  when  a  young  man  tells  you  he  is  about  to  get 
married,  it  is  rather  an  odd  thing  to  answer  "  Oh,  Arthur 
— or  Tom,  or  Dick,  or  Harry,  as  the  case  may  be — have  you 
seen  our  sideboard  ?  "  But  all  that  my  Lady  wanted  was 
to  speak  ;  for  Arthur,  having  accomplished  his  intention  of 
startling  us,  had  relapsed  into  silence. 

"  Of  course  he  has  seen  the  sideboard,"  I  say  for  him. 
"He  was  familiar  with  the  whole  of  that  fatal  transac- 
tion." 

"  Why  fatal  ?  "  says  the  Lieutenant. 

You  see,  we  were  getting  on. 

"  Bell  will  tell  you  the  history.  No  ?  Then  I  will— for 
the  benefit  of  all  folks  who  may  have  to  furnish  a  house  ; 
and  I  hope  Arthur — after  the  very  gratifying  announcement 
he  has  just  made — will  take  heed." 

"Oh,  yes,"  says  Arthur,  gaily,  "let  us  have  all  your 
experience  about  house  matters.  It  is  never  too  soon  to 
learn." 

"  Very  well.  There  was  once  a  sideboard  which  lived  in 
Dorking " 

Here  the  Lieutenant  begged  to  know  what  piece  of 
furniture  a  sideboard  was  ;  and  when  that  was  explained  to 
him,  the  legend  was  continued. 

"  It  was  a  very  grand  old  sideboard  of  carved  oak,  which 
had  regarded  the  dinner-parties  of  several  generations  from 
its  recess.  At  last  it  had  to  be  sold  at  public  auction.  A 
certain  agreeable  and  amiable  lady,  who  lives  on  the  banks 
of  the  river  Mole,  saw  this  sideboard,  and  was  told  she 
might  have  it  for  a  trifle  of  ninety-five  guineas.  She  is 
an  impressionable  person.  The  sideboard  occupied  her 
thoughts  day  and  night ;  until  at  last  (her  husband — who  is 


312  7HE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

the  most  obliging  person  in  the  world,  and  has  no  other 
desire  in  life  than  to  obey  her  wishes " 

Here  there  were  some  interruptions  at  the  further  end  of 
the  table.  Silence  having  been  restored,  the  speaker  went 
on  to  say  that  the  sideboard  was  bought. 

"  It  was  the  beginning  of  the  troubles  of  that  wretched 
man.  When  you  have  an  old  oak  sideboard  that  farmers' 
wives  will  drive  twenty  miles  to  look  at,  you  must  have  old 
oak  chairs.  When  you  have  old  oak  chairs,  a  micro- 
cephalous  idiot  would  know  that  you  must  have  an  old  oak 
table.  By  slow  degrees,  the  home  of  this  unhappy  man 
underwent  transformation.  Rooms  that  had  been  familiar 
to  him,  and  homely,  became  gloomy  halls  from  which  ghosts 
of  a  cheerful  temperament  would  have  fled  in  despair. 
People  came  to  dinner,  and  sat  in  the  high-backed  chairs 
with  an  expression  of  resigned  melancholy  on  their  faces  ; 
and  now  and  again  an  unlucky  lady  of  weight  and 
dimensions  would,  on  trying  to  rise  from  the  table,  tilt  up 
the  chair  and  save  herself  from  falling  by  clinging  to 
the  arm  of  the  man  next  her.  For,  of  course,  you  can't 
have  castors  on  old  oak  chairs  ;  and  when  the  stumps  of 
wood  have  got  well  settled  into  the  thick  Turkey  carpet, 
how  is  the  chair  to  be  sent  back  ?  " 

"  That  is  quite  absurd,"  says  a  voice.  "  Everyone  says 
our  dining-room  chairs  are  exceedingly  comfortable." 

"  Yours  are  ;  but  that  is  another  matter.  Now  the  lady 
of  the  house  did  not  stop  at  oak  furniture  and  solemn 
carpets  and  severe  curtains.  She  began  to  dress  herself  and 
her  children  to  match  her  surroundings.  She  cut  the  hair  of 
her  own  babes  to  suit  that  sideboard.  There  was  nothing 
heard  of  but  broad  lace  collars,  and  black  velvet  garments, 
and  what  not  ;  so  that  the  boys  might  correspond  with  the 
dado,  and  not  be  wholly  out  of  keeping  with  the  chairs. 
She  made  a  dress  for  her  own  mother,  which  that  estimable 
lady  contemplated  with  profound  indignation,  and  asked 
how  she  could  be  expected  to  appear  in  decent  society  in  a 
costume  only  fit  for  a  fancy  ball." 

"  It  was  a  most  beautiful  dress,  wasn't  it,  Bell  ?  "  says  a 
voice. 

"  But  far  worse  was  to  come.  She  began  to  acquire  a 
taste  for  everything  that  was  old  and  marvellous,  She 


OF  A  PHAETON.  313 

kept  her  husband  for  hours  stifling  in  the  clammy  atmo- 
sphere of  Soho,  while  she  ransacked  dirty  shops  for  scraps 
of  crockery  that  were  dear  in  proportion  to  their  ugliness. 
During  these  hours  of  waiting  he  thought  of  many  things 
— suicide  among  the  number.  But  what  he  chiefly 
ruminated  on  was  the  pleasing  and  ingenious  theory  that  in 
decoration  everything  that  is  old  is  genuine,  and  every- 
thing that  is  new  is  meretricious.  He  was  not  a  person 
of  profound  accomplishments " 

"  Hear,  hear  !  "  says  a  voice. 

"  And  so  he  could  not  understand  why  he  should 
respect  the  intentions  of  artists  who  a  couple  of  centuries 
ago  painted  fans,  and  painted  them  badly,  and  why  he 
should  treat  with  scorn  the  intentions  of  artists  who  at  this 
moment  paint  fans  and  paint  them  well.  He  could  not 
acquire  any  contempt  for  a  French  vase  in  gold  and  white 
and  rose-colour,  even  when  it  was  put  beside  a  vase  some 
three  hundred  years  of  age  which  was  chiefly  conspicuous 
by  its  defective  curves  and  bad  colour.  As  for  Italian 
mirrors  and  blue  and  white  china,  he  received  without 
emotion  the  statement  that  all  the  world  of  London  was 
wildly  running  after  these  things.  He  bore  meekly  the 
contemptuous  pity  bestowed  on  him  when  he  expressed  the 
belief  that  modern  Venetian  glass  was,  on  the  whole,  a 
good  deal  more  beautiful  than  any  he  had  seen  of  the  old, 
and  when  he  proposed  to  buy  some  of  it  as  being  more 
within  the  means  of  an  ordinary  person.  But  when  at  last 
— after  having  waited  a  mortal  hour  in  a  dingy  hole  in  a 
dingy  thoroughfare  near  Leicester  Square — he  was  goaded 
into  rebellion,  and  declared  that  he  did  not  care  a  brass 
farthing,  nor  even  the  half  of  that  sum,  when  an  object  of 
art  was  made,  how  it  was  made,  where  it  was  made,  or  by 
whom  it  was  made,  so  long  as  it  fulfilled  its  first  duty  of 
being  good  in  design  and  workmanship  and  agreeable  to 
the  eye — it  seemed  to  him  that  the  end  of  his  conjugal 
happiness  was  reached.  Nothing  short  of  a  legal  separation 
could  satisfy  the  injured  feelings  of  his  wife.  That  she 
should  have  to  live  with  this  Goth  and  outer  barbarian 
seemed  to  her  monstrous.  But  at  this  time  it  occurred  to  her 
that  she  might  find  some  use  for  even  such  a  creature,  con- 
sidering that  he  was  still  possessed  of  a  little  money  ." 


3H  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

"  You  seldom  omifc  to  bring  that  forward,"  says  the 
voice. 

"  And  that  there  was  a  drawing-room  to  be  trans- 
formed. Then  he  beheld  strange  things.  Phantom 
curtains  of  black  and  gold  began  to  steal  into  the  house. 
Hidden  mysteries  dwelt  in  the  black,  yellow,  and  red  of  the 
carpet ;  and  visitors  paused  upon  the  threshold  for  a 
moment  to  collect  their  wits,  after  the  first  stun  of  looking 
in.  Then,  all  the  oil  of  Greenland  was  unable  to  light  up 
this  gloomy  chamber  in  the  evening  ;  and  so  there  came 
down  from  London  mighty  sheets  of  mirrors  to  be  let  into 
the  walls.  '  Now,'  said  this  reckless  woman  to  her  husband, 
'we  must  have  a  whole  series  of  dinner-parties,  to  ask 
everybody  to  come  and  see  what  the  house  looks  like.'  " 

"  Oh,  what  a  story  !  "  cries  that  voice  again.  "  Bell,  did 
you  ever  hear  the  like  of  that  ?  I  wonder  he  does  not  say 
we  put  the  prices  on  the  furniture  and  invited  the  people 
to  look  at  the  cost.  You  don't  believe  it,  do  you,  Count 
von  Rosen  ?  " 

"  No,  Madame,"  said  the  Lieutenant ;  "  I  do  not  believe 
any  lady  exists  such  as  that  one  which  he  describes." 

"  But  he  means  me,"  says  Tita. 

"  Then  what  shall  I  say  ?  "  continues  the  young  man. 
"  May  I  say  that  I  have  never  seen — not  in  England,  not 
in  Germany — any  rooms  so  beautifully  arranged  in  the 
colours  as  yours  ?  And  it  was  all  your  own  design  ? 
Ha  !  I  know  he  is  calling  attention  to  that  for  the 
purpose  of  complimenting  you — that  is  it." 

Of  course,  the  mean-spirited  young  man  took  every 
opportunity  of  flattering  and  cajoling  Bell's  chief  adviser ; 
but  what  if  he  had  known  at  this  moment  that  she  had 
gone  over  to  the  enemy,  and  mentally  vowed  to  help 
Arthur  by  every  means  in  her  power  ? 

She  could  not  do  much  for  him  that  evening.  After 
dinner  we  had  a  little  music,  but  there  was  not  much  life 
or  soul  in  it.  Arthur  could  sing  an  ordinary  drawing-room 
song  as  well  as  another,  and  we  half  expected  him  to 
reveal  his  sorrows  in  that  way,  but  he  coldly  refused.  The 
Lieutenant,  at  my  Lady's  urgent  request,  sat  down  to  the 
piano  and  sang  the  song  that  tells  of  the  maiden  who  lived 
"  im  "Winkel  am  Thore  ;  "  but  there  was  an  absence  of  that 


OF  A  PHAETON.  315 

spontaneity  which  generally  characterized  his  rough  and 
ready  efforts  in  music,  and  after  missing  two  of  the  verses, 
he  got  over  his  task  with  an  air  of  relief.  It  was  very  hard 
that  the  duty  of  dispelling  the  gloom  should  have  been 
thrown  on  Bell ;  but  when  once  she  sat  down  and  struck 
one  or  two  of  those  minor  chords  which  presaged  one  of 
the  old  ballads,  we  found  a  great  refuge  from  our  em- 
barrassment. We  were  in  another  world  then — with  Chloe 
plaiting  flowers  in  her  hair ;  and  Robin  hunting  in  the 
greenwood  with  his  fair  lady,  who  was  such  a  skilful  archer  ; 
and  all  the  lasses  and  lads  kissing  each  other  round  the 
May-pole.  With  what  a  fine  innocence  Bell  sang  of  these 
merry  goings-on  !  I  daresay  a  good  many  well-conducted 
young  persons  would  have  stopped  with  the  stopping  of  the 
dancing,  and  never  told  what  happened  after  the  fiddler 
had  played  "  Packington's  Pound "  and  "  Bellinger's 
Round."  But  our  Bell,  with  no  thought  of  harm,  went 
merrily  on — 

"Then,  after  an  hour, 

They  went  to  a  bower, 
And  played  for  ale  and  cakes, 

And  kisses  too — 

Until  they  were  due 
The  lasses  held  the  stakes. 
The  girls  did  then  begin 

To  quarrel  with  the  men, 
And  bid  them  take  their  kisses  back 

And  give  them  their  own  again ! " 

In  fact,  there  was  a  very  bright  smile  of  amusement  on  her 
face,  and  you  could  have  fancied  that  her  singing  was  on 
the  point  of  breaking  into  laughter  ;  for  how  could  the 
girl  know  that  my  Lady  was  looking  rather  reserved  at  the 
mention  of  that  peculiar  sort  of  betting  ?  But  then  the 
concluding  verse  comes  back  to  the  realms  of  propriety ; 
and  Bell  sang  it  quite  gently  and  tenderly,  as  though  she, 
too,  were  bidding  good-bye  to  her  companions  in  a 
frolic — 

"  '  Good  night,'  says  Harry  ; 

'Good  night,'  says  Mary; 
'Good  night,'  says  Dolly  to  John; 

'Good  night,'  says  Sue 

To  her  sweetheart  Hugh; 
'Good  night,'  says  every  one. 


316  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

"Some  walked,  and  some  did  run, 

Some  loitered  on  the  way, 
And  bound  themselves  by  kisses  twelve 

To  meet  next  holiday — 
And  bound  themselves  by  kisses  twelve 
To  meet  next  holiday !  " 

"  Mademoiselle,"  said  von  Rosen,  coming  forward  to  her 
with  quite  a  paternal  air,  "  you  must  not  sing  any  more  to- 
night. You  are  always  too  ready  to  sing  for  us — and  you 
do  not  reflect  of  the  fatigue."  And  as  Bell  stood  rather 
embarrassed  by  this  exhibition  of  thoughtfulness,  and  as 
Arthur  glowered  gloomily  from  his  corner,  the  Lieutenant 
made  some  excuse  for  himself  and  me,  and  presently  we 
found  ourselves  out  by  the  shores  of  the  lake,  smoking  a 
contemplative  cigar  under  the  clear  starlight. 

"  Now,  my  good  friend,"  he  said,  suddenly,  "  tell  me — is 
it  a  lie  ?  Yes  ?  " 

"  Is  what  a  lie  ?  " 

"  The  foolish  story  that  he  will  be  married." 

"  Oh,  you  mean  Arthur.  I  had  almost  forgotten  what 
he  said  at  dinner.  Well,  perhaps  it  is  a  lie — young  men  in 
love  are  always  telling  lies  about  something  or  other." 

"  Heh  !  "  says  the  Lieutenant,  peevishly  ;  "  you  do  know 
it  is  not  true.  How  can  it  be  true;  ?  " 

"  Of  course  you  want  me  to  say  that  I  think  it  true — you 
boys  are  so  unreasonable.  I  don't  know  anything  about  it. 
I  don't  care.  If  he  wants  to  marry  some  girl  or  other,  I 
hope  he  may.  The  wish  is  perhaps  not  very  amiable " 

"  Now  look  at  this  !  "  says  the  Lieutenant,  quite  fiercely, 
and  in  a  voice  so  loud  that  I  was  afraid  it  might  reach  the 
windows  of  the  hotel,  that  were  now  sending  a  yellow  light 
over  the  lawn  ;  "  if  he  means  to  marry  some  other  young 
lady,  why  is  he  here  ?  He  has  no  business  here  !  Why 
does  he  come  here,  to  annoy  everyone  and  make  himself 
miserable  ?  He  ought  to  go  away  ;  and  it  is  you  that 
should  send  him  away." 

"  Bless  me  !  Surely  a  man  may  come  and  stop  at  an 
hotel  at  Grasmere  without  asking  my  permission.  I  have 
no  right  to  forbid  Arthur  remaining  in  Westmoreland,  or 
any  other  county.  He  does  not  ask  me  to  pay  his  bills." 

"  This  that  Madame  says  it  is  quite  true,  then,"  retorts  the 


OF  A  PHAETON.  317 

Lieutenant,  angrily,  "  that  you  care   only   for  your   own 
comfort ! " 

"  "When  Madame  says  such  things,  my  good  friend,  she 
retains  the  copyright.  Don't  let  her  hear  you  repeating 
them,  if  you  are  wise,  or  you'll  get  into  trouble.  As  for 
myself,  this  cigar  is  excellent,  and  you  may  let  your  vexation 
take  any  shape  that  is  handy.  I  foresaw  that  we  should 
soon  have  two  Arthurs  in  the  field," 

The  tall  young  soldier  walked  up  and  down  for  a  minute 
or  two,  evidently  in  great  distress,  and  at  last  he  stopped, 
and  said,  in  a  very  humble  voice — 

"  My  dear  friend,  I  beg  your  pardon.  I  do  not  know 
what  I  say,  when  I  see  this  pitiful  fellow  causing  so  much 
pain  to  your  wife  and  to  Mademoiselle.  Now,  when  you 
look  at  them — not  at  me  at  all — will  not  you  endeavour  to 
do  something  ?  " 

He  was  no  great  hand  at  diplomacy,  this  perplexed  and 
stammering  Uhlan,  who  seemed  bent  on  inflicting  his 
anger  on  his  cigar.  To  introduce  the  spectacle  of  two 
suffering  women  so  as  to  secure  the  banishment  of  his  rival 
was  a  very  transparent  device,  and  might  have  provoked 
laughter,  but  that  Grasmere  is  deep,  and  a  young  man  in 
love  exceedingly  irritable. 

"  He  says  he  is  going  to  marry  some  other  girl  :  what 
more  would  you  like  ?     You  don't  want  to  carry  off  all  his 
sweethearts  from  the  unfortunate  youth  ?  " 
"  But  it  is  not  true." 
"  Very  well." 

"And  you  talk  of  carrying  off  his  sweetheart.  Made- 
moiselle was  never  his  sweetheart,  I  can  assure  you  of  that ; 
and,  besides,  I  have  not  carried  her  off,  nor  am  likely  to  do 
that,  so  long  as  this  wretched  fellow  hangs  about  and 
troubles  her  much  with  his  complainings.  Now,  if  she  will 
only  say  to  me  that  I  may  send  him  away,  I  will  give  you 
my  word  he  is  not  in  this  part  of  the  country,  no,  not  one 
day  longer." 

"  Take  care.  You  can't  commit  muuder  in  this  country 
with  impunity,  except  in  one  direction.  You  may  dispose 
of  your  wife  as  you  please  ;  but  if  you  murder  any  reason- 
able being,  you  will  suffer." 

Indeed,  the  Lieutenant,  pacing  up  and  down  the  narrow 


318  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

path  by  the  lake,  looked  really  as  if  he  would  have  liked 
to  catch  Arthur  up  and  dash  him  against  Mercator's 
Projection,  or  some  other  natural  phenomenon ;  and  the 
more  he  contemplated  his  own  helplessness  in  the  matter, 
the  more  he  chafed  and  fumed.  In  this  placid  world  of 
moonlight  and  still  water,  he  alone  was  out  of  consonance, 
nursing  this  volcano  of  wrath  in  his  breast.  But,  suddenly, 
as  he  looked  up,  he  saw  the  blind  of  one  of  the  hotel- 
windows  thrust  aside,  and  he  knew  that  Bell  was  there, 
contemplating  the  wonderful  beauties  of  the  sky.  He 
ceased  his  growlings.  A  more  humane  expression  came  over 
his  face  ;  and  then  he  proposed  that  we  should  go  in,  lest 
the  ladies  should  want  to  say  good  night. 


CHAPTER    XXVI. 

THE  LAST  OF  GKASMERE. 

"  Muss  aus  dem  Thai  jetzt  scliciden, 

Wo  alles  Lust  und  Klaug; 
Das  1st  mein  herbstes  Leiden, 

Mein  letzter  Gang! 

Dich,  mein  stilles  Thai, 

Griiss'  ich  tausend  Mai ! 
Das  ist  mein  herbstes  Leiden, 

Mein  letzter  Gang ! " 

A  STILL  greater  surprise  was  in  store  for  us  next 
morning.  My  Lady  had  taken  leave  to  discredit  altogether 
the  story  of  Arthur's  approaching  marriage.  She  regarded 
it  as  merely  the  wild  and  reckless  utterance  of  vexation. 
For  the  young  man's  sake,  she  hoped  that  no  one  would 
make  any  allusion  to  this  topic,  and  that  he  himself  would 
allow  it  to  fall  into  the  rapidly  running  waters  of  oblivion. 

Now,  he  had  on  the  previous  day  despatched  a  message 
to  Kendal  to  the  effect  that  the  dog-cart  should  be  at  once 
sent  to  him,  if  the  cob  had  quite  recovered.  He  proposed 
to  accompany  us  as  far  as  Penrith  or  Carlisle  ;  further 
than  that,  he  said  he  did  not  care  to  go.  But  as  the  trap 
was  likely  to  arrive  that  forenoon,  and  as  he  had  to  see 
the  man  who  would  bring  it,  he  begged  us  to  start  for 
our  morning's  walk  by  ourselves — a  proposal  which  was 


OF  A  PHAETON.  319 

accepted  with  equanimity  by  the  whole  of  our  party.  The 
young  man  was  quite  complaisant.  My  Lady  was  very 
attentive  to  him  ;  and  we  thought  we  should  start  for  our 
ramble  with  the  consciousness  that  we  had  left  behind  us 
no  wretched  creature  eating  away  his  heart  with  thoughts 
of  revenge. 

Somehow  this  mood  passed  rapidly  away  from  him. 
The  spectacle  of  Bell  and  the  Lieutenant  planning,  with  a 
great  joy,  the  outline  of  our  morning  excursion  seemed  to 
bring  back  all  the  bitterness  of  his  spirit.  He  was  silent 
for  a  long  time — until,  indeed,  we  were  ready  to  leave  the 
hotel ;  and  then,  as  he  accompanied  us  to  the  door,  he 
produced  a  letter,  and  said,  with  an  affectation  of  careless- 
ness— • 

"  By  the  way,  I  have  a  message  for  you.  It  was  lucky  I 
thought  of  going  round  to  the  post-office  this  morning,  or  I 
should  have  probably  missed  this.  Katty  Tatham  desires 
to  be  remembered  to  you  all,  and  hopes  you  will  bring  her 
back  a  piece  of  Scotch  heather  to  show  that  you  went  all 
the  way.  Ta-ta  !  " 

He  waved  his  hand  to  us,  and  went  in.  Queen  Tita 
looked  at  me  solemnly ;  and  said  nothing  for  a  moment ; 
until  Bell  had  passed  along  the  road  a  little  bit,  with  the 
Lieutenant. 

"  Is  that  another  story,  do  you  think  ?  Do  you  believe 
that  Katty  Tatham  is  actually  in  correspondence  with 
him  ?  " 

"  He  did  not  say  so." 

"  He  meant  that  we  should  infer  it,  at  all  events ;  and 
that,  after  what  he  said  last  night " 

Tita  was  dreadfully  puzzled.  She  could  understand  how 
vexation  of  spirit  might  drive  a  foolish  young  man  into 
making  a  statement  not  wholly  in  accordance  with  fact  ; 
but  that  he  should  repeat  this  legend  in  another  way,  and 
bring  the  name  of  a  lady  into  it — no,  Tita  could  scarcely 
believe  that  all  this  was  untrue. 

She  hurried  up  to  Bell,  and  placed  her  hand  within  the 
young  lady's  arm. 

"Is  it  not  strange  that  Katty  Tatham  should  be  writing 
to  Arthur — if  that  was  what  he  meant  ?  " 

"  Oh,  no  ;  not  at  all.    They  are  very  old  friends  ;  and, 


320  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

besides,  she  does  all  the  letter-writing  for  her  papa,  who  is 
almost  blind,  poor  old  man.  And  what  a  nice  girl  she  is, 
isn't  she,  Tita  ?  " 

Of  course,  we  were  all  anxious  to  persuade  each  other 
that  Katty  Tathana  was  the  very  nicest  girl  in  all  England, 
although  none  of  us,  except  Bell,  had  seen  her  for  two  or 
three  years  ;  and  it  was  wonderful  how  this  sort  of  talk 
brightened  up  the  spirits  of  our  party.  The  Lieutenant 
grew  quite  interested  in  Katty  Tatham.  He  was  nearly 
praising  her  himself,  although  he  had  never  heard  her 
name  until  that  moment.  In  short,  the  four  of  us  were 
ready  to  swear  that  this  poor  little  Katty  was  just  as 
pleasant  and  honest  and  pretty  and  charming  a  girl  as  was 
to  be  found  anywhere  in  the  world,  or  out  of  it ;  and  that 
it  was  most  singular  she  had  never  married.  Tita  declared 
she  herself  knew  that  Katty  had  had  ever  so  many  offers  ; 
and  that  it  was  not  alone  the  frailties  of  her  father  that 
kept  her  from  marrying. 

"  She  must  *have  been  waiting  for  someone,"  said  the 
small  woman  rather  slyly. 

What  a  morning  it  was  !  As  we  walked  along  the  white 
road,  in  the  stillness  of  the  heat,  the  blue  waters  of 
Grasmere  glimmered  through  the  trees.  Never  had  we 
seen  the  colours  of  Bell's  Fairyland  so  intense.  The  hills 
in  the  distance  had  a  silvery  haze  thrown  over  their  pale 
purples  ;  but  here  around  us  the  sharp,  clear  hues  blazed 
in  the  sunshine — the  deep  azure  of  Grasmere,  the  yellow- 
white  of  the  road,  and  the  various  rich  greens  and  browns 
of  the  trees  and  the  shore.  And  then,  by  and  by,  AVC  came 
in  sight  of  Rydal  Water.  How  different  it  was  from  the 
weird  and  gloomy  lake  we  had  found  two  evenings  before 
lying  buried  between  the  hills.  Now  it  seemed  shallow 
and  fair  and  light,  with  a  grey  shimmer  of  wind  across  its 
surface,  breaking  here  and  there  the  perfect  mirror  of  the 
mountain-slopes  and  woods.  In  the  absolute  silence 
around  us  we  could  hear  the  water-hens  calling  to  each 
other ;  and  out  there  among  the  reeds  we  could  see  them 
paddling  about,  dipping  their  heads  into  the  lake,  and 
fluttering  their  wings.  We  walked  on  to  Rydal  bridge, 
and  had  a  look  at  the  clear  brown  rivulet  rushing  down  its 
narrow  channel  between  the  thick  underwood  and  the  trees. 


OF  A  PHAETON.  321 

We  took  the  Lieutenant  up  to  Rydal  Mount — the  small 
house  with  its  tree-fuchsias  standing  bright  and  warm 
in  the  sun — and  from  the  plateau  in  front  beheld  the 
great  fair  landscape  around  the  silver-white  lake  of 
Windermere.  We  went  up  to  the  falls  of  Rydal  Beck  ;  and, 
in  short,  followed  the  round  of  the  ordinary  tourist — all 
for  the  sake  of  our  Prussian  friend,  we  persuaded  ourselves. 
Bell  was  his  guide  ;  and  he  looked  as  though  he  would  have 
liked  to  be  led  for  ever.  Perhaps  he  took  away  with  him 
but  a  confused  recollection  of  all  the  interesting  things  she 
told  him  ;  but  surely,  if  the  young  man  has  a  memory,  he 
cannot  even  now  have  forgotten  that  bright,  clear,  warm 
day  that  was  spent  about  Rydal,  with  a  certain  figure  in 
the  foreground  that  would  have  lent  a  strange  and  gracious 
charm  to  a  far  less  beautiful  picture. 

"  Is  it  not  an  odd  thing,"  I  say  to  Queen  Titania,  who 
has  been  pulling  and  plaiting  wild-flowers  in  order  to  let 
the  young  folks'  get  ahead  of  us,  "  how  you  associate 
certain  groups  of  unheeding  trees  and  streams  and  hills 
with  various  events  in  your  life,  and  can  never  get  over  the 
impression  that  they  wear  such  and  such  a  look  ?  " 

"  I  daresay  it's  quite  true,  but  I  don't  understand,"  she 
says,  with  the  calm  impertinence  which  distinguishes  her. 

"  If  you  will  cease  for  a  moment  to  destroy  your  gloves 
by  pulling  these  weeds,  I  will  tell  you  a  story  which  will 
convey  my  meaning  to  your  small  intellect." 

"  Oh,  a  story,"  she  says,  with  a  beautiful  sigh  of 
resignation. 

"  There  was  a  young  lady  once  upon  a  time  who  was 
about  to  leave  England  and  go  with  her  mamma  to  live  in 
the  south-west  of  France.  They  did  not  expect  to  come 
back  for  a  good  number  of  years,  if  ever  they  came  back. 
And  so  a  young  man  of  their  acquaintance  got  up  a  farewell 
banquet  at  Richmond,  and  several  friends  came  down  to 
the  hotel.  They  sat  in  a  room  overlooking  the  windings  of 
the  river,  and  the  soft  masses  of  foliage,  and  the  far 
landscape  stretching  on  to  Windsor.  The  young  man  had, 
a  little  time  before,  asked  the  young  lady  to  marry  him  ; 
and  she  refused  ;  but  he  bore  her  no  malice " 

"  He  has  taken  care  to  have  his  revrenge  since,"  says 
Tita. 


322  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

"  You  interrupt  the  story.  They  sat  down  to  dinner  on 
this  summer  evening.  Everyone  was  delighted  with  the 
view  ;  but  to  this  wretched  youth  it  seemed  as  though  the 
landscape  were  drowned  in  sadness,  and  the  river  a  river  of 
unutterable  grief.  All  the  trees  seemed  to  be  saying  good- 
bye ;  and  when  the  sun  went  down,  it  was  as  though  it 
would  never  awaken  any  other  morning  with  the  light  of 
bygone  days.  The  mist  came  over  the  trees.  The  evening 
fell,  slow,  and  sad,  and  grey.  Down  by  the  stream  a  single 
window  was  lit  up  ;  and  that  made  the  melancholy  of  the 
picture  even  more  painful ;  until  the  young  man,  who  had 
eaten  nothing  and  drank  nothing,  and  talked  to  people  as 
though  he  were  in  a  dream,  felt  as  if  all  the  world  had 
grown  desolate,  and  was  no  more  worth  having — 

"  If  I  had  only  known,"  says  Tita,  in  a  voice  so  low  and 
gentle  that  you  could  scarcely  have  heard  it. 

"  And  then,  presently,  the  carriages  came  round ;  and. 
he  saw  her,  with  the  others,  come  downstairs  prepared  to 
leave.  He  bade  good-night  to  the  mamma,  who  got  into 
the  carriage.  He  bade  good-night  to  her ;  and  she  was 
about  to  get  in  too  ;  when  she  suddenly  remembered  that 
she  had  left  some  flowers  in  the  dining-room,  and  ran  back 
to  fetch  them.  Before  he  could  overtake  her  she  had  got 
the  flowers  and  was  coming  back  through  the  passage  into 
the  hall.  *  It  isn't  good-night,  it  is  good-bye,  we  must 
say'- — I  think  he  said  something  like  that — and  she  held 
out  her  hand — and  somehow  there  was  a  very  strange  look 
in  her  eyes,  just  as  if  she  were  going  to  cry — • — -.  But,  you 
know,  there's  no  use  in  your  crying  just  now  about  it." 

Tita  is  pretending  to  smile  ;  but  a  certain  tremor  of  the 
lips  is  visible  ;  and  so  the  narrator  hurries  on— 

"  Now  look  here.  During  the  next  three  months — for 
the  soft-hearted  creature  had  hurriedly  whispered  that  she 
might  return  to  England  then — that  young  man  haunted 
Eichmond.  He  pretty  nearly  ruined  his  prospects  in  life, 
and  his  digestion  as  well,  by  continual  and  solitary  dining 
at  the  Star  and  Garter.  He  could  have  kissed  the  stone 
steps  of  that  hotel ;  and  never  entered  its  vestibule  without 
blessing  the  white  pillars  and  blank  walls.  He  spent  hours 
in  writing  letters  there 

"  So  that  the  Biarritz  boatmen  wondered  why  so  many 


OF  A  PHAETON.  323 

envelopes  should  have  the  Richmond  postmark,"  says  Tita 
— though  how  she  could  have  learnt  anything  about  it 
goodness  only  knows. 

"and  haled  out  every  complaisant  friend  he  could 

lay  hands  on  to  moon  about  the  neighbourhood.  But  the 
strange  thing  is  this — that  while  he  was  in  love  with  the 
vestibule  of  the  hotel,  he  never  saw  the  twilight  fall  over 
the  Richmond  woods  without  feeling  a  cold  hand  laid  on 
his  heart ;  and  when  he  thinks  of  the  place  now — with  the 
mists  coming  over  the  trees  and  the  river  getting  dark — • 
he  thinks  that  the  view  from  Richmond-hill  is  the  most 
melancholy  in  all  the  world." 

"  And  what  does  he  think  of  Eastbourne  ?  " 

"  That  is  a  very  different  thing.  He  and  she  got  into 
the  quarrelling  stage  there— 

"In  which  they  have  successfully  remained  to  the 
present  time." 

"But  when  she  was  young  and  innocent,  she  would 
always  admit  that  she  had  begun  the  quarrel." 

"On  the  contrary,  she  told  stories  in  order  to  please 
him." 

"  That  motive  does  not  much  control  her  actions  now-a- 
days,  at  all  events." 

Here  Tita  would  probably  have  delivered  a  crushing 
reply,  but  that  Bell  came  up  and  said — • 

"  What !  you  two  children  fighting  again  !  What  is  it 
all  about  ?  Let  me  be  umpire." 

"  He  says  that  there  is  more  red  in  the  Scotch  daisies 
than  in  the  English  daisies,"  observed  Tita,  calmly.  It  was 
well  done.  Yet  you  should  hear  her  lecture  her  two  boys 
on  the  enormity  of  telling  a  fib. 

How  sad  Bell  was  to  leave  the  beautiful  valley  in  which 
we  had  spent  this  happy  time  !  Arthur  had  got  his  dog- 
cart ;  and  when  the  phaeton  was  brought  round,  the 
Major's  cob  was  also  put-to,  and  both  vehicles  stood  at  the 
door.  We  took  a  last  look  at  Grasmere.  "  Dich,  mem 
stilles  Thai ! "  said  Bell,  with  a  smile  ;  and  the  Lieutenant 
looked  quite  shamefaced  with  pleasure  to  hear  her  quote  his 
favourite  song.  Arthur  did  not  so  well  like  the  introduc- 
tion of  those  few  words.  He  said,  with  a  certain  aii'  of 
indifference — 

Y  2 


324  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

"  Can  I  give  anybody  a  seat  in  the  dog-cart  ?  It  would 
be  a  change." 

"  Oh,  thank  you  :  I  should  like  so  much  to  go  with  you, 
Arthur,"  said  Tita,  with  promptitude. 

Did  you  ever  see  the  like  of  it !  The  woman  has  no 
more  notion  of  considering  her  own  comfort  than  if  she 
had  the  hide  of  an  alligator,  instead  of  being,  as  she  is, 
about  the  most  sensitive  creature  in  the  world.  However, 
it  is  well  for  her — if  she  will  permit  me  to  say  so — that  she 
has  people  around  her  who  are  not  quite  so  impulsively 
generous  ;  and  on  this  occasion  it  was  obviously  necessary 
to  save  her  from  being  tortured  by  the  fractious  com- 
plainings of  this  young  man,  whom  she  would  have 
sympathized  with  and  consoled  if  the  effort  had  cost  her 
her  life. 

"  No,"  I  say.  "  That  won't  do.  We  have  got  some 
stiff  hills  to  climb  presently,  and  someone  must  remain  in 
the  phaeton  while  the  others  walk.  Now,  who  looks  best 
in  the  front  of  the  phaeton  ?  " 

"  Mamma,  of  course,"  said  Bell,  as  if  she  had  discovered 
a  conundrum ;  and  so  the  matter  was  settled  in  a 
twinkling. 

I  think  it  would  have  been  more  courteous  for  Arthur  to 
have  given  the  phaeton  precedence,  considering  who  was 
driving  it ;  but  he  was  so  anxious  to  show  off  the  paces  of 
Major  Quinet's  cob,  that  on  starting  he  gave  the  animal  a 
touch  of  the  whip  that  made  the  light  and  high  vehicle 
spring  forward  in  a  surprising  manner. 

"  Young  man,  reflect  that  you  are  driving  the  father  of 
a  family,"  I  remarked  to  him. 

Nevertheless,  he  went  through  the  village  of  Grasmere  at 
a  considerable  rate  of  speed  ;  and  when  we  got  well  up 
the  road  which  goes  by  the  side  of  the  Eothay  into  the 
region  of  the  hills,  we  found  that  we  had  left  Tita  and 
her  company  far  behind.  Then  he  began  to  walk  the  cob. 

"  Look  here  !  "  he  said,  quite  fiercely  ;  "  is  Bell  going  to 
marry  that  German  fellow  ?  " 

"  How  do  I  know  ?  "  I  answered,  astonished  by  the  young 
man's  impudence. 

"  You  ought  to  know.  You  are  her  guardian.  You  are 
responsible  for  her — • — " 


OF  A  PHAETON.  325 

"  To  you  ? " 

"  No,  not  to  me ;  but  to  your  own  conscience  ;  and  I 
think  the  way  in  which  you  have  entrapped  her  into 
making  the  acquaintance  of  this  man,  of  whom  she  knows 
nothing,  doesn't  look  very  well.  I  may  as  well  say  it 
when  I  think  it.  You  ought  to  have  known  that  a  girl  at 
her  age  is  ready  to  be  pleased  with  any  novelty ;  and  to 
draw  her  away  from  her  old  friends — I  suppose  you  can 
explain  it  all  to  your  own  satisfaction — but  I  confess  that 
to  me " 

I  let  the  young  man  rave.  He  went  on  in  this  fashion 
for  some  little  time,  getting  momentarily  more  reckless  and 
vehement  and  absurd  in  his  statements.  If  Tita  had  only 
known  what  she  had  escaped  ! 

"  But  after  all,"  I  observed  to  him,  when  the  waters  of 
this  deluge  of  rhetoric  had  abated,  "  what  does  it  matter  to 
you  ?  We  have  allowed  Bell  to  do  just  as  she  pleased ; 
and  perhaps,  for  all  we  know,  she  may  regard  Count  von 
Rosen  with  favour,  although  she  has  never  intimated  such 
a  thing.  But  what  does  it  matter  to  you  ?  You  say  you 
are  going  to  get  married." 

"  So  I  shall !  "  he  said,  with  an  unnecessary  amount  of 
emphasis. 

"  Katty  Tatham  is  a  very  nice  girl." 

"  I  should  think  so  !  There's  no  coquetry  about  her,  or 
that  sort  of  vanity  that  is  anxious  to  receive  flattery  from 
every  sort  of  stranger  that  is  seen  in  the  street 

"  You  don't  mean  to  say  that  that  is  the  impression  you 
have  formed  of  Bell  ?  " 

And  here  all  his  violence  and  determination  broke  down. 
In  a  tone  of  absolute  despair  he  confessed  that  he  was 
beside  himself,  and  did  not  know  what  to  do.  What  should 
he  do  ?  Ought  he  to  implore  Bell  to  promise  to  marry 
him  ?  Or  should  he  leave  her  to  her  own  ways,  and  go  and 
seek  a  solution  of  his  difficulties  in  marrying  this  pretty 
little  girl  down  in  Sussex,  who  would  make  him  a  good 
wife  and  teach  him  to  forget  all  the  sufferings  he  had  gone 
through  ?  The  wretched  young  fellow  was  really  in  a  bad 
way  ;  and  there  were  actually  tears  in  his  eyes  when  he 
said  that  several  times  of  late  he  had  wished  he  had  the 
courage  to  drown  himself. 


326  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

To  tell  a  young  man  in  this  state  that  there  is  no  woman 
in  the  world  worth  making  such  a  fuss  about,  is  useless. 
He  rejects  with  scorn  the  cruel  counsels  offered  by  middle 
age  ;  and  sees  in  them  only  taunts  and  insults.  Moreover, 
he  accuses  middle  age  of  not  believing  in  its  own  maxims 
of  worldly  prudence  ;  and  sometimes  that  is  the  case. 

"  At  all  events,"  I  say  to  him,  "  you  are  unjust  to  Bell  in 
going  on  in  this  wild  way.  She  is  not  a  coquette,  nor  vain, 
nor  heartless  ;  and  if  you  have  anything  to  complain  of,  or 
anything  to  ask  from  her,  why  not  go  direct  to  herself, 
instead  of  indulging  in  frantic  suspicions  and  accusa- 
tions ?  " 

"  But — but  I  cannot,"  he  answers.  "  It  drives  me  mad 
to  see  her  talking  to  that  man.  If  I  were  to  begin  to  speak 
to  her  of  all  this,  I  am  afraid  matters  would  be  made 
worse." 

"  Well,  take  your  own  course.  Neither  my  wife  nor 
myself  have  anything  to  do  with  it.  Arrange  iu  among 
yourselves  ;  only,  for  goodness'  sake,  leave  the  women  a 
little  peace." 

"  Do  you  think  /  mean  to  trouble  them  ?  "  he  says, 
firing  up.  "  You  shall  see." 

What  deep  significance  lay  in  these  words  was  not 
inquired  into,  for  we  had  now  to  descend  from  the  dog- 
cart. Far  behind  us  we  saw  that  Bell  and  Count  von 
Rosen  were  already  walking  by  the  side  of  the  phaeton,  and 
Tita  talking  to  them  from  her  lofty  seat.  We  waited  for 
them  until  they  came  up  ;  and  then  we  proceeded  to  climb 
the  steep  road  that  leads  along  the  slopes  of  the  mighty 
Helvellyn. 

"  Mademoiselle,"  said  the  Lieutenant,  "  who  is  it  will  say 
that  there  is  much  rain  in  your  native  country  ?  Or  did 
you  alarm  us  so  as  to  make  this  surprise  all  the  better, 
yes  ?  " 

Indeed,  there  was  scarcely  a  flake  of  white  in  all  the 
blue  overhead  ;  and,  on  the  other  side  of  the  great  valley, 
the  masses  of  the  Wythburn  and  Borrodaile  Fells  showed 
their  various  hues  and  tints  so  that  you  could  almost 
have  fancied  them  transparent  clouds.  Then  the  road 
descended  ;  and  we  got  down  to  the  solitary  shores  of 
Thirlmere,  the  most  Scotch-looking,  perhaps,  of  the  English 


OF  A  PHAETON.  327 

lakes.  Here  the  slopes  of  the  hills  are  more  abrupt  ;  houses 
are  few  and  far  between  ;  there  is  an  aspect  of  remoteness 
and  a  perfect  silence  reigning  over  the  still  water  ;  and  the 
peaks  of  the  mountains  that  you  see  beyond  are  more  jagged 
and  blue  than  the  rounded  hills  about  Windermere.  From 
the  shores  of  Thirlmere  the  road  again  rises  ;  until,  when 
you  come  to  the  crest  of  the  height,  you  find  the  leaden- 
coloured  lake  lying  sheer  below  you,  and  only  a  little  stone 
wall  guarding  the  edge  of  the  precipitous  slope.  "We  rested 
the  horses  here.  Bell  began  to  pull  them  handfuls  of 
Dutch  clover  and  grass.  The  Lieutenant  talked  to  my 
Lady  about  the  wonders  of  mountainous  countries  as  they 
appeared  to  people  who  had  been  bred  in  the  plains. 
Arthur  looked  over  the  stone  wall  down  into  the  great 
valley  ;  and  was  he  thinking,  I  wonder,  whether  the  safest 
refuge  from  all  his  troubles  might  not  be  that  low-lying 
and  silent  gulf  of  water  that  seemed  to  be  miles  beneath 
him? 

When  we  were  about  to  start  again,  the  Lieutenant  said 
in  a  casual  kind  of  way  to  Arthur — • 

"  If  you  are  tired  of  driving  the  dog-cart,  you  might 
come  into  the  phaeton,  and  I  will  drive  your  horse  on  to 
Keswick." 

Who  prompted  him  to  make  such  an  offer  ?  Not 
himself,  surely.  I  had  formed  a  tolerable  opinion  of  his 
good-nature ;  but  the  impatient  and  fretful  manner  in 
which  he  had  of  late  been  talking  about  Arthur  rendered 
it  highly  improbable  that  this  suggestion  was  his  own. 
"What  did  Bell's  downcast  look  mean  ? 

"  Thank  you,  I  prefer  the  dog-cart,"  said  Arthur  coldly. 

"  Oh,  Arthur,"  said  Bell,  "  you've  no  idea  how  steep  the 
hill  is,  going  down  to  Keswick,  and  in  a  dog-cart  too — 

"  I  suppose,"  retorted  the  young  man,  "  that  I  can  drive 
a  dog-cart  down  a  hill  as  well  as  anybody  else." 

"  At  all  events,"  said  the  Lieutenant,  with  something  of 
a  frown,  "  you  need  not  address  Mademoiselle  as  if  that  she 
did  you  harm  in  trying  to  prevent  your  breaking  your 
neck." 

This  was  getting  serious  ;  so  that  there  was  nothing  for 
it  but  to  bundle  the  boy  into  his  dog-cart  and  order  the 
Lieutenant  to  change  places  with  my  Lady.  As  for  the 


328  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

writer  of  these  pages — the  emotions  he  experienced  while  a 
mad  young  fellow  was  driving  him  in  a  light  and  high 
dog-cart  down  the  unconscionable  hill  that  lies  above 
Keswick,  he  will  not  attempt  to  describe.  There  are 
occurrences  in  life  which  it  is  better  to  forget ;  but  if  ever 
he  was  tempted  to  invoke  maledictions  on  the  hotheaded- 
ness,  and  bad  temper,  and  general  insanity  of  boys  in 
love Enough  !  We  got  down  to  Keswick  in  safety. 

Now  we  had  come  among  the  tourists,  and  no  mistake. 
The  hotel  was  all  alive  with  elderly  ladies,  who  betrayed  an 
astonishing  acquaintance  with  the  names  of  the  mountains, 
and  apportioned  them  off  for  successive  (days  as  if  they 
were  dishes  for  luncheon  and  dinner.  The  landlord 
undertook  to  get  us  beds  somewhere,  if  only  we  would  come 
into  his  coffee-room,  which  was  also  a  drawing-room,  and 
had  a  piano  in  it.  He  was  a  portly  and  communicative 
person,  with  a  certain  magnificence  of  manner  which  was 
impressive.  He  betrayed  quite  a  paternal  interest  in  Tita, 
and  calmly  and  loftily  soothed  her  anxious  fears.  Indeed, 
his  assurances  pleased  us  much  ;  and  we  began  rather  to 
like  him  ;  although  the  Lieutenant  privately  remarked  that 
Clicquot  is  a  French  word,  and  ought  not,  under  any 
circumstances  whatever,  to  be  pronounced  "  Clickot." 

Then  we  walked  down  to  Derwentwater.  It  was  a  warm 
and  clear  twilight.  Between  the  dark  green  lines  of  the 
hedges  we  met  maidens  in  white,  with  scarlet  opera-cloaks, 
coming  home  through  the  narrow  lane.  Then  we  reached 
the  open  ;  and  found  the  shores  of  the  silver  lake  ;  and  got 
into  a  boat ;  and  sailed  out  upon  the  still  waters,  so  that  we 
could  face  the  wonders  of  the  evening  skies. 

But  all  that  glow  of  red  and  yellow  in  the  north-west 
was  as  nothing  to  the  strange  gradations  of  colour  that 
appeared  along  the  splendid  range  of  mountain-peaks 
beyond  the  lake.  From  the  remote  north  round  to  the 
south-east  these  stretched  like  a  mighty  wall ;  and  whereas 
near  the  gold  and  crimson  of  the  sunset  they  were  of  a 
warm,  roseate,  and  half-transparent  purple,  as  they  came 
along  into  the  darker  regions  of  the  twilight  they  grew 
more  and  more  cold  in  hue  and  harsh  in  outline.  Up  there 
in  the  north  they  had  caught  the  magic  colours  so  that 
they  themselves  seemed  but  light  clouds  of  beautiful 


OF  A  PHAETON.  329 

vapour  ;  but  as  the  eye  followed  the  line  of  twisted  and 
mighty  shapes,  the  crimson  deepened  into  purple  ;  the 
purple  grew  darker  and  more  dark  ;  and  greens  and  blues 
began  to  appear  over  the  wooded  islands  and  shores  of 
Derwentwater.  Finally,  away  down  there  in  the  south 
there  was  a  lowering  sky,  into  which  rose  wild  masses  of 
slate-coloured  mountains ;  and  in  the  threatening  and  yet 
clear  darkness  that  reigned  among  these  solitudes  we  could 
see  but  one  small  tuft  of  white  cloud  that  clung  coldly  to 
the  gloomy  summit  of  Glaramara. 

That  strange  darkness  in  the  south  boded  rain  ;  and,  as 
if  in  anticipation  of  the  wet,  the  fires  of  the  sunset  went 
down,  and  a  grey  twilight  fell  over  the  land.  As  we 
walked  home  between  the  tall  hedges  there  was  a  chill 
dampness  in  the  air  ;  and  we  seemed  to  know  that  we  had 
at  last  bade  good-bye  to  the  beautiful  weather  that  had  lit 
up  for  us  the  blue  water  and  green  shores  of  Grasmere. 

[Note  ly  Queen  Titania. — "I  begin  to  think  the  old  lady  in 
Nottinghamshire  had  some  excuse  for  what  she  said,  although  she 
need  not  have  expressed  herself  so  rudely.  Of  course  it  is  impossible 
to  put  down  all  that  we  spoke  about  on  those  happy  days  of  our 
journey ;  but  when  all  the  ordinary  talk  is  carefully  excluded,  and 
everything  spiteful  retained,  I  cannot  wonder  that  a  stranger  should 
think  that  my  husband  and  myself  do  not  lead  a  very  pleasant  life. 
It  looks  very  serious  when  it  is  put  in  type  ;  whereas  we  have  been 
driven  into  all  this  nonsense  of  quarrelling  merely  to  temper  the 
excessive  sentimentality  of  those  young  folks,  which  is  quite  amusing  in 
its  way.  Indeed,  I  am  afraid  that  Bell,  although  she  has  never  said 
a  word  to  that  effect  to  me,  is,  far  more  deeply  pledged  than  one  who 
thinks  he  has  a  great  insight  into  such  affairs  has  any  notion  of.  I 
am  sure  it  was  none  of  my  doing.  If  Bell  had  told  me  she  was 
engaged  to  Arthur,  nothing  could  have  given  me  greater  pleasure. 
In  the  meantime,  I  hope  no  one  will  read  too  literally  the  foregoing 
pages,  and  think  that  in  our  house  we  are  continually  treading  on 
lucifer  matches  and  frightening  everybody  by  small  explosions.  I 
suppose  it  is  literary  art  that  compels  such  a  perversion  of  the  truth ! 
And  as  for  Chapter  Twenty-six — which  has  a  great  deal  of  nonsense 
in  it  about  Richmond — I  should  think  that  a  very  good  motto  for  it 
would  be  two  lines  I  once  saw  quoted  somewhere.  I  don't  know  who 
is  the  author ;  but  they  said — 

'  The  legend  is  as  true,  I  undertake, 
As  Tristram  is,  or  Lancelot  of  the  Lalce.'  "J 


330  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

CHAPTEE    XXVII. 

ALONG  THE  GRETA. 

"  You  stood  before  me  like  a  thought, 

A  dream  remembered  in  a  dream. 

But  when  those  meek  eyes  first  did  seem 
To  tell  me,  Love  within  you  wrought — 

O  Greta,  dear  domestic  stream! 
Has  not,  since  then,  Love's  prompture  deep, 

Has  not  Love's  whisper  evermore, 

Been  ceaseless  as  thy  gentle  roar  ? 
Sole  voice,  when  other  voices  sleep, 

Dear  under-song  in  Clamor's  hour." 

"  Now,  Bell,"  says  Tita, "  I  am  going  to  ask  you  a  serious 
question." 

"  Yes,  Mamma,"  answers  the  girl,  dutifully. 

"  Where  is  the  North  Country  ?  " 

Good  gracious  !  This  was  a  pretty  topic  to  start  as  we 
sat  idly  by  the  shores  of  Derwentwater,  and  watched  the  great 
white  clouds  move  lazily  over  the  mountain  peaks  beyond. 
For,  did  it  not  involve  some  haphazard  remark  of  Bell's, 
which  would  instantly  plunge  the  Lieutenant  into  the 
history  of  Strathclyde,  so  as  to  prove,  in  defiance  of  the  first 
principles  of  logic  and  the  Ten  Commandments,  that  the 
girl  was  altogether  right  ?  Bell  solved  the  difficulty  in  a 
novel  fashion.  She  merely  repeated,  in  a  low  and  careless 
voice,  some  lines  from  the  chief  favourite  of  all  her  songs — 

"  While  sadly  I  roam,  I  regret  my  dear  home, 

Where  lads  and  young  lasses  are  making  the  hay ; 
The  merry  bells  ring,  and  the  birds  sweetly  sing, 

And  maidens  and  meadows  are  pleasant  and  gay: 
Oh  !   the  oak  and  the  ash,  and  the  bonny  ivy-tree, 
They  grow  so  green  in  the  North  Countree ! " 

"  But  where  is  it  ?  "  says  Tita.  "  You  are  always  looking 
to  the  North  and  never  getting  there.  Down  in  Oxford,  you 
were  all  anxiety  to  get  up  to  Wales.  Once  in  Wales,  you 
hurried  us  on  to  Westmoreland.  Now  you  are  in  Westmore- 
land, you  are  still  hankering  after  the  North,  and  I  want  to 
know  where  you  mean  to  stop.  At  Carlisle  ?  Or  Edinburgh  ? 
Or  John  o'  Groat's  ?  " 


OF  A  PHAETON.  331 

The  little  woman  was  becoming  quite  eloquent  in  her  quiet 
and  playful  fashion,  as  she  sat  there  with  Bell's  hand  in  hers. 
The  girl  looked  rather  embarrassed  ;  and  so,  of  course,  the 
Lieutenant,  always  on  the  look-out  for  such  a  chance,  must 
needs  whip  up  his  heavy  artillery  and  open  fire  on  Bell's 
opponent. 

"  No,  Madame."  he  says  ;  "  why  should  you  fix  down  that 
beautiful  country  to  any  place  ?  Is  it  not  better  to  have  the 
dream  always  before  you  ?  You  are  too  practical " 

Too  practical ! — This  from  an  impertinent  young  Uhlan 
to  a  gentle  lady  whose  eyes  are  full  of  wistful  visions  and 
fancies  from  morning  till  night ! 

" It  is  better  that  you  have  it  like  the  El  Dorado  that 

the  old  travellers  went  to  seek — always  in  front  of  them,  but 
never  just  in  sight.  Mademoiselle  is  quite  right  not  to  put 
down  her  beautiful  country  in  the  map." 

"  Count  von  Eosen,"  says  my  Lady,  with  some  show  of 
petulance,  "  you  are  always  proving  Bell  to  be  in  the  right. 
You  never  help  me  ;  and  you  know  I  never  get  any  assistance 
from  the  quarter  whence  it  ought  to  come.  Now,  if  I  were 
to  say  that  I  belonged  to  the  North  Country,  you  would 
never  think  of  bringing  all  sorts  of  historical  arguments  to 
prove  that  I  did." 

"  Madame,"  says  the  young  man,  with  great  modesty,  "  the 
reason  is  that  you  never  need  any  such  arguments,  for  you 
are  always  in  the  right  at  first." 

Here  Bell  laughs  in  a  very  malicious  manner  ;  for  was  not 
the  retort  provoked  ?  My  Lady  asks  the  girl  to  watch  the 
creeping  of  a  shadow  over  the  summit  of  Glaramara,  as  if 
that  had  anything  to  do  with  the  history  of  Deira. 

Well,  the  women  owed  us  some  explanation  ;  for  between 
them  they  had  resolved  upon  our  setting  out  for  Penrith  that 
afternoon.  All  the  excursions  we  had  planned  in  this 
beautiful  neighbourhood  had  to  be  abandoned,  and  for  no 
ostensible  reason  whatever.  That  there  must  be  some  occult 
motive,  however,  behind  this  odd  resolve  was  quite  certain  ; 
and  the  Lieutenant  and  myself  were  left  to  fit  such  keys  to 
the  mystery  as  we  might  think  proper. 

Was  it  really,  then,  this  fantastic  longing  of  Bell's  to  get 
northward,  or  was  it  not  rather  a  secret  consciousness  that 
Arthur  would  cease  to  accompany  us  at  Carlisle  ?  The 


332  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

gmng  man  had  remained  behind  at  the  hotel  that  morning, 
e  had  important  letters  to  write,  he  said.  A  telegram  had 
arrived  for  him  while  we  were  at  breakfast ;  and  he  had 
remarked,  in  a  careless  way,  that  it  was  from  Mr.  Tatham, 
Katty's  father.  Perhaps  it  was.  There  is  no  saying  what 
a  reckless  young  fellow  may  not  goad  an  elderly  gentleman 
into  doing  ;  but  if  this  message,  as  we  were  given  to  under- 
stand, had  really  something  to  do  with  Arthur's  relations 
towards  Katty,  it  was  certainly  an  odd  matter  to  arrange 
by  telegraph. 

As  for  the  Lieutenant,  he  appeared  to  treat  the  whole 
affair  with  a  cool  indifference  which  was  probably  assumed. 
In  private  conversation  he  informed  me  that  what  Arthur 
might  do  in  the  way  of  marrying  Miss  Tatham  or  anybody 
else  was  of  no  consequence  whatever  to  him. 

"  Mademoiselle  will  tell  me  my  fate— that  is  enough,"  he 
said.  "  You  think  that  I  am  careless — yes  ?  It  is  not  so, 
except  I  am  convinced  your  friend  from  Twickenham  has 
nothing  to  do  with  it.  No,  he  will  not  marry  Mademoiselle 
— that  is  so  clear  that  anyone  may  see  it — but  he  may 
induce  her,  frighten  her,  complain  of  her,  so  that  she  will 
not  marry  me.  Good.  If  it  is  so,  I  will  know  who  has 
served  me  that  way." 

"  You  needn't  look  as  if  you  meant  to  eat  up  the  whole 
family,"  I  observed  to  him. 

"  And  more,"  he  continued,  with  even  greater  fierceness, 
"  it  has  come  to  be  too  much,  this.  He  shall  not  go  beyond 
Carlisle  with  us.  I  will  not  allow  Mademoiselle  to  be  per- 
secuted. You  will  say  I  have  no  right — that  it  is  no 
business  of  mine " 

"  That  is  precisely  what  I  do  say.  Leave  the  girl  to 
manage  her  own  affairs.  If  she  wishes  Arthur  to  go,  she 
can  do  it  with  a  word.  Do  you  think  there  is  no  other  way 
of  giving  a  young  man  his  conge  than  by  breaking  his  neck  ?  " 

"  Oh,  you  think,  then,  that  Mademoiselle  wishes  him  to 
remain  near  her  ?  " 

A  sudden  and  cold  reserve  had  fallen  over  the  young 
fellow's  manner.  He  stood  there  for  a  moment  as  if  he 
calmly  expected  to  hear  the  worst,  and  was  ready  to  pack  up 
his  traps  and  betake  himself  to  the  south. 

"  I  tell  you  again,"  I  say,  "  that  I  think  nothing  about 


OF  A  PHAETON.  333 

it,  and  know  nothing  about  it.  But  as  for  the  decree  of 
Providence  which  ordained  that  young  people  in  love  should 
become  the  pest  and  torture  of  their  friends,  of  all  the 
inscrutable,  unjust,  perplexing,  and  monstrous  facts  of  life, 
this  is  about  the  worst.  I  will  take  a  cigar  from  you,  if  you 
please." 

"  That  is  all  you  care  for — yes — a  cigar,"  says  the  young 
man,  peevishly.  "If  the  phaeton  were  to  be  smashed  to 
pieces  this  afternoon — a  cigar.  If  Mademoiselle  were  to  go 
and  marry  this  wretched  fellow — again,  a  cigar.  I  do  not 
think  that  you  care  more  for  anything  around  you  than  the 
seal  which  comes  up  and  shakes  hands  with  his  keeper  in 
the  Zoological  Gardens." 

"  Got  a  light  ?  " 

"  And  yet  I  think  it  is  possible  you  will  have  a  surprise 
very  soon.  Yes !  and  will  not  be  so  indifferent.  After 
Carlisle " 

"  After  Carlisle  you  come  to  Gretna  Green.  But  if  you 
propose  to  run  away  with  Bell,  don't  take  my  horses — they 
are  not  used  to  hard  work." 

"  Eun  away  !  You  do  talk  as  if  Mademoiselle  were  willing 
to  run  away  with  anybody.  No,  it  is  quite  another  thing." 

And  here  the  Lieutenant,  getting  into  the  morose  state — 
which  always  follows  the  fierceness  of  a  lover — begins  to  pull 
about  the  shawls  and  pack  them  up. 

Nevertheless,  the  eighteen  miles  between  Keswick  and 
Penrith  proved  one  of  the  pleasantest  portions  of  our  jour- 
ney. There  was  not  much  driving,  it  is  true.  We  started 
at  mid-day  ;  and,  having  something  like  five  or  six  hours  in 
which  to  get  over  this  stretch  of  mountain  and  moorland 
road,  we  spent  most  of  the  time  in  walking,  even  Tita  de- 
scending from  her  usual  post  to  wander  along  the  hedgerows 
and  look  down  into  the  valley  of  the  Greta.  As  the  white 
road  rose  gradually  from  the  plain  of  the  lakes,  taking  us 
along  the  slopes  of  the  mighty  Saddleback,  the  view  of  the 
beautiful  country  behind  us  grew  more  and  more  extended. 
The  clear  silver  day  showed  us  the  vast  array  of  moun- 
tains in  the  palest  of  hues  ;  and  as  white  clouds  floated 
over  the  hills  and  the  gleaming  surface  of  Derwentwater, 
even  the  shadows  seemed  tender  and  luminous.  There  was  no 
mist,  but  a  bewildering  glare  of  light,  that  seemed  at  once 


334  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

to  transform  and  blend  the  clouds,  the  sky,  the  hills,  and 
the  lake.  There  was  plenty  of  motion  in  the  picture,  too  ; 
for  there  was  a  south  wind  blowing  through  all  that 
silver  whiteness  ;  but  there  was  no  lowering  mass  of  vapour 
lying  up  at  the  horizon,  and  all  our  evil  anticipations  of 
the  previous  day  remained  unfulfilled. 

What  a  picturesque  glen  is  that  over  which  the  great  mass 
of  Saddleback  towers  !  We  could  hear  the  Greta  rushing 
down  the  chasm  through  a  world  of  light-green  foliage  ; 
and  sometimes  we  got  a  glimpse  of  the  stream  itself — a  rich 
brown,  with  dashes  of  white  foam.  Then  you  cross  the 
river  where  it  is  joined  by  St.  John's  Beck  ;  and  as  you 
slowly  climb  the  sides  of  Saddleback,  the  Greta  becomes  the 
Glenderamackin  ;  and  by  and  by  you  lose  it  altogether  as  it 
strikes  off  to  the  north.  But  there  are  plenty  of  streams 
about.  Each  gorge  and  valley  has  its  beck  ;  and  you  can 
hear  the  splashing  of  the  water  where  there  is  nothing- 
visible  but  masses  of  young  trees  lying  warm  and  green  in 
the  sunshine. 

And  as  for  the  wild-flowers  that  grow  here  in  a  wonder- 
ful luxuriance  of  form  and  colour,  who  can  describe  them  ? 
The  Lieutenant  was  growing  quite  learned  in  English  wild 
blossoms.  He  could  tell  the  difference  between  Herb 
Eobert  and  Ragged  Robin ;  was  not  to  be  deceived  into 
believing  the  rock-rose  a  buttercup ;  and  had  become  pro- 
found in  the  study  of  the  various  speedwells.  But  he  was  a 
late  scholar.  Arthur  had  been  under  Bell's  tuition  years 
before.  He  knew  all  the  flowers  she  liked  best ;  he  could 
pick  them  out  at  a  distance  without  going  through  the 
trouble  of  laboriously  comparing  them,  as  our  poor  Lieu- 
tenant had  to  do.  You  should  have  seen  these  two  young 
men — with  black  rage  in  their  hearts — engaged  in  the  idyllic 
pastime  of  culling  pretty  nosegays  for  a  fair  maiden.  Bell 
treated  them  both  with  a  simple  indifference  that  was  be- 
gotten chiefly  by  the  very  definite  interest  she  had  in  their 
pursuit.  She  was  really  thinking  a  good  deal  more  of  her 
tangled  and  picturesque  bouquet  than  of  the  intentions  of 
the  young  men  in  bringing  the  flowers  to  her.  She  was 
speedily  to  be  recalled  from  her  dream. 

At  a  certain  portion  of  the  way  we  came  upon  a  lot  of 
forget-me-nots,  that  were  growing  amid  the  roadside  grass, 


OF  A  PHAETON.  335 

meaning  no  harm.  The  pale  turquoise  blue  of  the  flowers 
was  looking  up  to  the  silver- white  fleece  of  the  sky,  just  as 
if  there  were  some  communion  between  the  two  that  rude 
human  hands  had  no  right  to  break.  Arthur  made  a  plunge 
at  them.  He  pulled  up  at  once  some  half-dozen  stalks  and 
came  back  with  them  to  Bell. 

"  Here,"  he  said,  with  a  strange  sort  of  smile,  "  are  some 
forget-me-nots  for  you.  They  are  supposed  to  be  typical  of 
woman's  constancy,  are  they  not  ? — for  they  keep  fresh 
about  half-a-dozen  hours." 

Bell  received  the  flowers  without  a  trace  of  surprise  or 
vexation  in  her  manner  ;  and  then,  with  the  most  admirable 
self-possession,  she  turned  to  the  Lieutenant,  separated  one 
of  the  flowers  from  the  lot,  and  said,  with  a  great  gentleness 
and  calmness — 

"  Count  von  Rosen,  do  you  care  to  have  one  of  these  ? 
You  have  very  pretty  songs  about  the  forget-me-not  in 
Germany." 

I  believe  that  young  fellow  did  not  know  whether  he  was 
dead  or  alive  at  the  moment  when  the  girl  addressed  him 
thus.  For  a  single  second  a  flash  of  surprise  and  bewilder- 
ment appeared  in  his  eyes  ;  and  then  he  accepted  the  flower 
from  her  and  said,  looking  down  as  if  he  did  not  wish  any 
of  us  to  see  his  face — 

"  Mademoiselle,  thank  you." 

But  almost  directly  afterwards  he  had  recovered  himself. 
With  an  air  as  if  nothing  had  happened,  he  pulled  out  his 
pocket-book,  most  carefully  and  tenderly  put  the  forget- 
me-not  in  it,  and  closed  it  again.  Arthur,  with  his  face  as 
hot  as  fire,  had  begun  to  talk  to  Tita  about  Threlkeld  Hall. 

It  was  a  pretty  little  scene  to  be  enacted  on  this  bright 
morning,  on  a  grassy  wayside  in  Cumberland,  with  all  the 
lakes  and  mountains  of  Westmoreland  for  a  blue  and  silvery 
background.  But  after  all,  of  what  importance  was  it  ?  A 
girl  may  hand  her  companion  of  the  moment  a  flower  with- 
out any  deadly  intent  ?  How  was  anyone  to  tell,  indeed, 
that  she  had  so  turned  to  the  Lieutenant  as  a  retort  to 
Arthur's  not  very  courteous  remark  ?  There  was  no  ap- 
pearance of  vexation  in  her  manner.  On  the  contrary,  she 
had  given  von  Rosen  this  paltry  little  forget-me-not, 
and  made  a  remark  about  German  songs,  just  as  she  might 


336  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

have  done  at  home  in  Surrey  to  any  of  the  young  fellows 
who  come  dawdling  about  the  house,  wondering  why  such  a 
pretty  girl  should  not  betray  a  preference  for  somebody. 
Even  as  a  punishment  for  Arthur's  piece  of  impudence,  it 
might  not  have  any  but  the  most  transitory  meaning. 
Bell  is  quick  to  feel  any  remark  of  the  kind  ;  and  it  is  just 
possible  that  at  the  moment  she  may  have  been  stung  into 
executing  this  pretty  and  pastoral  deed  of  vengeance. 

But  the  Lieutenant,  at  all  events,  was  persuaded  that 
something  of  mighty  import  had  just  occurred  on  the  pic- 
turesque banks  of  this  Cumberland  stream.  He  hung  about 
Bell  for  some  time,  but  seemed  afraid  to  address  her,  and 
had  ceased  to  offer  her  flowers.  He  was  permitted  to  bring 
her  a  sunshade,  however,  and  that  pleased  him  greatly. 
And  thereafter  he  went  up  to  the  horses,  and  walked  by 
their  heads,  and  addressed  them  in  very  kindly  and  soothing 
language,  just  as  if  they  had  done  him  some  great  service. 

Arthur  came  back  to  us. 

"  It  looks  rather  ridiculous,"  he  said,  abruptly,  "  to  see 
the  procession  of  this  horse  and  dog-cart  following  your 
phaeton.  Hadn't  I  better  drive  on  to  Penrith  ?  " 

"  The  look  of  it  does  not  matter  here,  surely,"  answered 
Bell.  "  We  have  only  met  two  persons  since  we  started, 
and  we  shan't  find  many  people  up  in  this  moorland  we  are 
coming  to." 

"  Oh,  as  you  please,"  said  the  young  man,  a  trifle  molli- 
fied. "  If  you  don't  mind,  of  course  I  don't." 

Presently  he  said,  with  something  of  an  effort — 

"  How  long  is  your  journey  to  last  altogether  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know,"  one  says  to  him.  "  We  shall  be  in 
Edinburgh  in  two  or  three  days,  and  our  project  of  driving 
thither  accomplished.  But  we  may  spend  a  week  or  two  in 
Scotland  after  that." 

"  Count  von  Eosen  is  very  anxious  to  see  something  of 
Scotland,"  says  Bell,  with  the  air  of  a  person  conveying 
information. 

I  knew  why  Count  von  Eosen  was  so  anxious  to  see  some- 
thing of  Scotland — he  would  have  welcomed  a  journey  to 
the  North  Pole  if  only  he  was  sure  that  Bell  was  going  there 
too.  But  Arthur  said,  somewhat  sharply — 

"  I  am  glad  I  shah1  escape  the  duty  of  dancing  attendance 


OF  A  PHAETON.  337 

on  a  stranger.  I  suppose  you  mean  to  take  him  to  the 
Tower  and  to  Madame  Tussaud's  when  you  return  to 
London  ?  " 

"  But  won't  you  come  on  with  us  to  Edinburgh,  Arthur  ?  " 
says  Bell,  quite  amiably. 

"  No,  thank  you,"  he  says ;  and  then,  turning  to  me  : 
"  How  much  does  it  cost  to  send  a  horse  and  trap  from 
Carlisle  to  London  ?  " 

"  From  Edinburgh  it  costs  101.  5s.,  so  you  may  calculate." 

"  I  suppose  I  can  get  a  late  train  to-morrow  night  for 
myself  ?  " 

"  There  is  one  after  midnight." 

He  spoke  in  a  gloomy  way,  that  had  nevertheless  some 
affectation  of  carelessness  in  it.  Bell  again  expressed  her 
regret  that  he  could  not  accompany  us  to  Edinburgh  ;  but 
he  did  not  answer. 

We  were  now  about  to  get  into  our  respective  vehicles  ; 
for  before  us  lay  a  long  stretch  of  high  moorland  road  ;  and 
we  had  been  merely  idling  the  time  away  during  the  last 
mile  or  two. 

"  Won't  you  get  into  the  dog-cart  for  a  bit,  Bell  ? "  says 
Arthur. 

"  Oh  yes,  if  you  like,"  says  Bell,  good-naturedly. 

The  Lieutenant,  knowing  nothing  of  this  proposal,  was 
rather  astonished  when,  after  we  had  called  to  him  to  stop 
the  horses,  he  perceived  that  Bell  was  being  assisted  into  the 
dog-cart,  Arthur  following  and  taking  the  reins.  The  rest 
of  us  got  into  the  phaeton  ;  but,  of  course,  Arthur  had  got 
the  start  of  us,  and  went  on  in  front. 

"  How  far  is  it  to  G-retna  Green  ?  "  asks  my  Lady  in  a 
low  voice. 

The  Lieutenant  scowled,  and  regarded  the  two  figures  in 
front  of  us  in  anything  but  an  amiable  mood. 

"  You  do  not  care  much  for  her  safety  to  entrust  her  to 
that  stupid  boy,"  he  remarks. 

"  Do  you  think  he  will  really  run  away  with  her  ?  "  asks 
Tita. 

"  Run  away  ! "  repeats  the  Lieutenant,  with  some  scorn, 
**  If  he  were  to  try  that,  or  any  other  foolish  thing,  do  you 
know  what  you  would  see  ?  You  would  see  Mademoiselle 
take  the  reins  from  him,  and  go  where  she  pleased  in  spite. 


338  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

of  him.  Do  you  think  that  she  is  controlled  by  that  pitiful 
fellow  ?  " 

Whatever  control  Bell  possessed,  there  was  no  doubt  at  all 
that  Arthur  was  taking  her  away  from  us  at  a  considerable 
pace.  After  that  stretch  of  moorland  the  road  got  very 
hilly  ;  and  no  man  who  is  driving  his  own  horses  likes  to 
run  them  up  steep  ascents  for  the  mere  pleasure  of  catching 
a  runaway  boy  and  his  sweetheart.  In  the  ups  and  downs 
of  this  route  we  sometimes  lost  sight  of  Bell  and  Arthur 
altogether.  The  Lieutenant  was  so  wroth  that  he  dared  not 
speak.  Tita  grew  a  trifle  anxious,  and  at  last  she  said — 

"  Won't  you  drive  on  and  overtake  these  young  people  ? 
I  am  sure  Arthur  is  forgetting  how  hilly  the  road  is." 

"  I  don't.  Arthur  is  driving  somebody  else's  horse,  but  I 
can't  aiford  to  ill-treat  my  own  in  order  to  stop  him." 

"  I  am  sure  your  horses  have  not  been  overworked,"  says 
the  Lieutenant  ;  and  at  this  moment,  as  we  get  to  the  crest 
of  a  hill,  we  find  that  the  two  fugitives  are  on  the  top  of  the 
next  incline. 

"fftik!     Hie!     Heh!" 

Two  faces  turn  round.  A  series  of  pantomimic  gestures 
now  conveys  my  Lady's  wishes  ;  we  see  Arthur  jump  down 
to  the  ground  and  assist  Bell  to  alight ;  and  then  she 
begins  to  pull  some  grass  for  the  horse. 

When  we,  also,  get  to  the  top  of  this  hill,  lo  !  the 
wonderful  sight  that  spreads  out  before  us  !  Along  the 
northern  horizon  stands  a  pale  line  of  mountains  ;  and  as  we 
look  down  into  the  vast  plain  that  lies  between,  the  yellow 
light  of  the  sunset  touches  a  strange  sort  of  mist,  so  that 
you  would  think  there  lay  a  broad  estuary  or  a  great  arm  of 
the  sea.  We  ourselves  are  in  shadow  ;  but  all  the  wide 
landscape  before  us  is  bathed  in  golden  fire  and  smoke  ;  and 
up  there,  ranged  along  the  sky,  are  the  wan  hills  that  stand 
like  phantoms  rising  out  of  another  world. 

Bell  comes  into  the  phaeton.  We  set  out  again  along  the 
hilly  road,  getting  comforted  presently  by  the  landlord  of  a 
wayside  inn,  who  says,  "Ay,  the  road  goes  pretty  mooch 
doon  bank  a' t'  waay  to  Penrith,  after  ye  get  a  mile  forrit." 
Bell  cannot  tell  us  whether  this  is  pure  Cumbrian,  or 
Cumbrian  mixed  with  Scotch  ;  but  the  Lieutenant  insists  that 
it  does  not  much  matter,  for  "  fomt "  is  very  good  Frisian. 


OF  A  PHAETON.  339 

The  chances  are  that  we  should  have  suffered  another 
sermon  on  the  German  origin  of  our  language,  but  that 
signs  of  a  town  became  visible.  "We  drove  in  from  the 
country  highways  in  the  gathering  twilight.  There  were 
lights  in  the  streets  of  Penrith  ;  but  the  place  itself  seemed 
to  have  shut  up  and  gone  to  bed.  It  was  but  half -past 
eight  ;  yet  nearly  every  shop  was  closed  ;  and  the  inn  into 
which  we  drove  had  clearly  got  over  its  day's  labour.  If  we 
had  asked  for  dinner  at  this  hour,  the  simple  folks  would 
probably  have  laughed  at  us  ;  so  we  called  it  supper,  and  a 
very  excellent  supper  it  proved  to  be. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

"  ADE  !  " 

"  Edwin,  if  right  I  read  my  song, 
With  slighted  passion  paced  along, 

All  in  the  moony  light; 
'Twas  near  an  old  enchanted  court, 
Where  sportive  fairies  made  resort 

To  revel  out  the  night." 

"  I  AM  so  sorry  you  can't  come  further  with  us  than 
Carlisle,"  says  Queen  Titania  to  Arthur,  with  a  great  kind- 
liness for  the  lad  shining  in  her  brown  eyes. 

"  Duty  calls  me  back — and  pleasure,  too,"  he  says,  with 
rather  a  melancholy  smile.  "  You  will  receive  a  message 
from  me,  I  expect,  shortly  after  I  return.  Where  will  letters 
find  you  in  Scotland  ?  " 

This  was  rather  a  difficult  question  to  answer  ;  but  it  took 
us  away  from  the  dangerous  subject  of  Arthur's  intentions, 
about  which  the  less  said  at  that  moment  the  better.  The 
Lieutenant  professed  a  great  desire  to  spend  two  or  three 
weeks  in  Scotland  ;  and  Bell  began  to  sketch  out  phantom 
tours,  whisking  about  from  Loch  Lubnaig  to  Loch  Long, 
cutting  round  the  Mull  of  Cantire,  and  coming  back  from 
Stornoway  to  the  Crinan  in  a  surprising  manner. 

"  And,  Mademoiselle,"  says  he,  "  perhaps  to-morrow,  when 
you  get  into  Scotland,  you  will  begin  to  tell  me  something  of 
the  Scotch  songs,  if  it  does  not  trouble  you.  I  have  read 
some — yes — of  Burns's  songs,  mostly  through  Freiligrath's 

z  2 


340  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

translations,  but  I  have  not  heard  any  sung,  and  I  know 
that  you  know  them  all.  Oh  yes,  I  liked  them  very  much 
— they  are  good,  hearty  songs,  not  at  all  melancholy  ; 
and  an  excellent  fellow  of  that  countiy  I  met  in  the  war — 
he  was  a  correspondent  for  some  newspaper,  and  he  was  at 
Metz,  but  he  was  as  much  of  a  soldier  as  any  man  of  us — he 
told  me  there  is  not  any  such  music  as  the  music  of  the 
Scotch  songs.  That  is  a  very  bold  thing  to  say,  you  know, 
Mademoiselle  ;  but  if  you  will  sing  some  of  them,  I  will 
give  you  my  frank  opinion." 

"Yery  well,"  says  Mademoiselle,  with  a  gracious  smile, 
"but  I  think  I  ought  to  begin  to-day,  for  there  is  a.  great 
deal  of  ground  to  be  got  over." 

"  So  much  the  better,"  says  he. 

"  But  if  you  young  people,"  says  Queen  Tita,  "  who  are 
all  bent  on  your  own  pleasure,  would  let  me  make  a  sugges- 
tion, I  think  I  can  put  your  musical  abilities  to  a  better  use. 
I  am  going  to  give  a  concert  as  soon  as  I  get  home,  for  the 
benefit  of  our  Clothing  Club  ;  and  I  want  you  to  undertake, 
Count  von  Eosen,  to  sing  for  us  two  or  three  German  songs 
— Korner's  war-songs,  for  example." 

"Oh,  with  ^  great  pleasure,  Madame,  if  you  will  not  all 
laugh  at  my  singing." 

Unhappy  wretch — another  victim  !  But  it  was  a  mercy 
she  asked  him  only  for  a  few  songs,  instead  of  hinting  about 
a  more  tangible  contribution.  That  was  probably  to  come. 

"  Bell,"  says  my  Lady, "  do  you  think  we  ought  to  charge 
twopence  this  time  ?  " 

On  this  tremendous  financial  question  Bell  declines  to 
express  an  opinion,  beyond  suggesting  that  the  people,  if 
they  could  only  be  induced  to  come,  would  value  the  concert 
all  the  more.  A  much  more  practical  proposal,  however,  is 
placed  before  this  committee  now  assembled  in  Penrith. 
At  each  of  these  charity-concerts  in  our  schoolroom,  a 
chamber  is  set  apart  for  the  display  of  various  viands 
und  wines  and  aerated  waters,  devoted  to  the  use  of 
the  performers,  their  friends,  and  a  few  special  guests.  It 
is  suggested  that  the  expense  of  this  entertainment  should 
not  always  fall  upon  one  person  ;  there  being  several  house- 
holders in  the  neighbourhood  whq  are  much  more  able  to 
afford  such  promiscuous  banquets, 


OF  A  PHAETON.  341 

"  I  am  sure,"  says  my  Lady,  with  some  emphasis,  "  that  I 
know  several  gentlemen  who  would  only  be  too  eager  to  come 
forward  and  send  those  refreshments,  if  they  only  knew  you 
were  making  such  a  fuss  about  it." 

"  My  dear,"  I  answer  humbly,  "  I  wish  you  would  speak 
to  them  on  this  subject." 

"  I  wouldn't  demean  myself  so  far,"  says  Tita,  "  as  to  ask 
for  wine  and  biscuits  from  my  neighbours." 

"  I  wish  these  neighbours  wouldn't  drink  so  much  of  my 
champagne." 

"  But  it  is  a  charity  ;  why  should  you  grumble  ? "  says 
the  Lieutenant. 

"  Why  ?  These  abandoned  ruffians  and  their  wives  give 
five  shillings  to  the  charity,  and  come  and  eat  and  drink  ten 
shillings'  worth  of  my  food  and  wine.  That  is  why." 

"  Never  mind,"  says  Bell,  with  her  gentle  voice  ;  "  when 
Count  von  Eosen  comes  to  sing  we  shall  have  a  great 
audience;  and  there  will  be  a  lot  of  money  taken  at  the 
door  ;  and  we  shall  be  able  to  clear  all  expenses  and  pay  you, 
too,  for  the  champagne." 

"  At  sevenpence-halfpenny  a  bottle,  I  suppose  ?  " 
"  I  did  not  think  you  got  it  so  cheap,"  says  Tita,  with  a 
pleasing  look  of  innocence  ;  and  therewith  the  young  folks 
begin  to  laugh,  as  they  generally  do  when  she  says  anything 
specially  impertinent. 

Just  before  starting  for  Carlisle,  we  happened  to  be  in 
the  old  churchyard  of  Penrith,  looking  at  the  pillars  which 
are  supposed  to  mark  the  grave  of  a  giant  of  old,  and  trying 
to  persuade  ourselves  that  we  saw  something  like  Runic 
carvings  on  the  stones.  There  came  forward  to  us  a  strange- 
looking  person,  who  said  suddenly — • 
"  God  bless  you  !  " 

There  was  no  harm  in  that,  at  all  events  ;  but  presently  he 
began  to  attach  himself  to  Arthur,  and  insisted  on  talking 
to  him ;  while,  whenever  the  young  man  seemed  inclined 
to  resent  this  intrusion,  the  mysterious  stranger  put  in 
another  "  God  bless  you  ! "  so  as  to  disarm  criticism.  We 
speedily  discovered  that  this  person  was  a  sort  of  whiskified 
Old  Mortality,  who  claimed  to  have  cut  all  manner  of  tomb- 
stones standing  around ;  and  to  Arthur,  whom  he  specially 
affected,  he  continually  appealed  with  "  Will  that  do,  eh  ? 


342  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

I  did  that — will  that  do,  eh  ?  "  The  young  man  was  not 
in  a  communicative  mood,  to  begin  with  ;  but  the  persecu- 
tion he  now  suffered  was  like  to  have  driven  him  wild.  In 
vain  he  moved  away  ;  the  other  followed  him.  In  vain  he 
pretended  not  to  listen  ;  the  other  did  not  care.  He  would 
probably  have  expressed  his  feelings  warmly,  but  for  the 
pious  ejaculation  which  continually  came  in ;  and  when  a 
man  says  "  God  bless  you,"  you  can't  with  decency  wish  him 
the  reverse.  At  length,  out  of  pure  compassion,  the  Lieu- 
tenant went  over  to  the  man,  and  said — • 

"  Well,  you  are  a  very  wicked  old  gentleman,  to  have  been 
drinking  at  this  time  in  the  morning." 

"  God  bless  you  !  " 

"  Thank  you.  You  have  given  to  us  your  blessing  all 
round  :  now  will  you  kindly  go  away  ?  " 

"  Wouldn't  you  like  to  see  a  bit  of  my  cutting,  now,  eh  ?  " 

"  No,  I  wouldn't ;  I  would  like  to  see  you  go  home  and 
get  a  sleep,  and  get  up  sober." 

"  God  bless  you  !  " 

"  The  same  to  you.  Good-bye  " — and  behold  !  Arthur 
was  delivered,  and  returned,  blushing  like  a  girl,  to  the 
women,  who,  being  rather  afraid  of  this  half -tipsy  or  half- 
silly  person,  had  remained  at  a  distance. 

You  may  be  sure  that  when  we  were  about  to  start  from 
Penrith,  the  Lieutenant  did  not  forget  to  leave  out  Bell's 
guitar-case.  And  so  soon  as  we  were  well]  away  from  the 
town,  and  bowling  along  the  level  road  that  leads  up  to  Car- 
lisle, the  girl  put  the  blue  ribbon  round  her  shoulder  and 
began  to  cast  about  for  a  song.  Arthur  was  driving  close 
behind  us — occasionally  sending  on  the  cob  so  as  to  exchange 
a  remark  or  two  with  my  Lady.  The  wheels  made  no  great 
noise,  however ;  and  in  the  silence  lying  over  the  shining 
landscape  around  us,  we  heard  the  clear,  full,  sweet  tones  of 
Bell's  voice  as  well  as  if  she  had  been  singing  in  a  room, 

"Behind  yon  Mils  where  Lugar  flows — " 

That  was  the  first  song  that  she  sang  ;  and  it  was  well  the 
Lieutenant  was  not  a  Scotchman,  and  had  never  heard  the 
air  as  it  is  daily  played  on  the  Clyde  steamers  by  wandering 
fiddlers. 

"  I  don't  mean  to  sing  all  the  songs,"  says  Bell,  presently ; 


OF  A  PHAETON.  343 

"  I  shall  only  give  you  a  verse  or  so  of  each  of  those  I  know, 
so  that  you  may  judge  of  them.  Now  this  is  a  fighting 
song  ; "  and  with  that  she  sang  with  fine  courage — • 

"Here's  Kenmure's  health  in  wine,  Willie! 

Here's  Kenmure's  health  in  wine ! 
There  ne'er  was  a  coward  o'  Kenmure's  blood, 

Nor  yet  o'  Gordon's  line  ! 
Oh,  Kenmure's  lads  are  men,  Willie! 

Oh,  Kenmure's  lads  are  men  ! 
Their  hearts  and  swords  are  metal  true, 

And  that  their  foes  shall  ken ! " 

How  was  it  that  she  always  sang  these  wild,  rebellious, 
Jacobite  songs  with  so  great  an  accession  of  spirit  ?  Never 
in  our  southern  home  had  she  seemed  to  care  anything 
about  them.  There,  the  only  Scotch  songs  she  used  to  sing 
for  us  were  the  plaintive  laments  of  unhappy  lovers,  and 
such-like  things  ;  whereas  now  she  was  all  for  blood  and 
slaughter,  for  the  gathering  of  the  clans,  and  the  general 
destruction  of  law  and  order.  I  don't  believe  she  knew  who 
Kenmure  was.  As  for  the  Braes  o'  Mar,  and  Callander  and 
Airlie,  she  had  never  seen  one  of  these  places.  And  what 
was  this  "  kane  "  of  which  she  sang  so  proudly  ? — • 

"Hark  the  horn! 

Up  i*  the  morn ; 
Bonnie  lad,  come  to  the  march  to-morrow ! 

Down  the  Glen, 

Grant  and  his  men, 
They  shall  pay  kane  to  the  King  the  morn  ! 

Down  by  Knockhaspie, 

Down  by  Gillespie, 
Many  a  red  runt  nods  the  horn; 

Waken  not  Callum, 

Kouky,  nor  Allan — 
They  shall  pay  kane  to  the  King  the  morn !  " 

"  Why,  what  a  warlike  creature  you  have  become,  Bell !  " 
says  Queen  Titania.  "  Ever  since  you  sang  those  songs  of 
Maria,  with  Count  von  Rosen  as  the  old  sergeant,  you  seem 
to  have  forgotten  all  the  pleasant  old  ballads  of  melancholy 
and  regret,  and  taken  to  nothing  but  fire  and  sword.  Now, 
if  you  were  to  sing  about  Logan  Braes,  or  Lucy's  Flitting, 
or  Annie's  Tryst — — " 

"  I  am  coming  to  them,"  says  Bell,  meekly. 

"  No,  Mademoiselle,"  interposes  the  Lieutenant,  "  please 


344  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

do  not  sing  any  more  just  now.  You  will  sing  again,  in 
the  afternoon,  yes  ?  But  at  present  you  will  harm  your 
voice  to  sing  too  much." 

Now  she  had  only  sung  snatches  of  three  songs.  What 
business  had  he  to  interfere,  and  become  her  guardian  ? 
Yet  you  should  have  seen  how  quietly  and  naturally  she  laid 
aside  the  guitar  as  soon  as  he  had  spoken,  and  how  she 
handed  it  to  him  to  put  in  the  case  :  my  Lady  meanwhile 
looking  hard  at  her  gloves,  which  she  always  does  when 
she  is  inwardly  laughing  and  determined  that  no  smile 
shall  appear  in  her  eyes. 

It  was  rather  hard  upon  Arthur  that  he  should  be  banished 
into  that  solitary  trap  ;  but  he  rejoined  us  when  we  stopped 
at  High  Hesket  to  bait  the  horses,  and  have  a  snack  of 
something  for  lunch.  What  a  picture  of  desolation  is  the 
White  Ox  of  this  village  !  Once  upon  a  time  this  broad  road 
formed  part  of  the  great  highway  leading  towards  the  north  ; 
and  here  the  coaches  stopped  for  the  last  time  before  driving 
into  Carlisle.  It  is  a  large  hostelry  ;  but  it  had  such  an 
appearance  of  loneliness  and  desertion  about  it,  that  we 
stopped  at  the  front  door  (which  was  shut)  to  ask  whether 
they  could  put  the  horses  up.  An  old  lady,  dressed  in  black, 
and  with  a  worn  and  sad  face,  appeared.  We  could  put  the 
horses  up,  yes.  As  for  luncheon,  we  could  have  ham  and 
eggs.  The  butcher  only  came  to  the  place  twice  a  week  ; 
and  as  no  traveller  stopped  here  now,  no  butcher's  meat  was 
kept  on  the  premises.  We  went  into  the  great  stables  ;  and 
found  an  ostler  who  regarded  us  with  a  wonderful  astonish- 
ment shining  in  his  light-blue  eyes.  Looking  at  the  empty 
stalls,  he  said  he  could  remember  when  forty  horses  were 
put  up  there  every  day.  It  was  the  railway  that  had  done  it. 

We  had  our  ham  and  eggs  in  a  large  and  melancholy 
parlour,  rilled  with  old-fashioned  pictures  and  ornaments. 
The  elderly  servant-woman  who  waited  on  us  told  us  that  a 
gentleman  had  stopped  at  the  inn  on  the  Monday  night  be- 
fore ;  but  it  turned  out  that  he  was  walking  to  Carlisle, 
that  he  had  got  afraid  of  two  navvies  on  the  road,  and  that 
he  therefore  had  taken  a  bed  here.  Before  him,  no  one 
had  stopped  at  the  inn  since  Whitsuntide.  It  was  all 
along  of  them  railways. 

We  hastened  away  from  this  doleful  and  deserted  inn,  as 


OF  A  PHAETON.  345 

soon  as  the  horses  were  rested.  They  had  easy  work  of  it 
for  the  remainder  of  the  day's  journey.  The  old  coach-road 
is  here  remarkably  broad,  level,  and  well-made ;  and  we 
bowled  along  the  solitary  highway  as  many  a  vehicle  had 
done  in  bygone  years.  As  we  drove  into  "  merry  Carlisle," 
the  lamps  were  lit  in  the  twilight,  and  numbers  of  people 
were  in  the  streets.  For  the  convenience  of  Arthur,  we  put 
up  at  an  hotel  abutting  on  the  railway  station ;  and  then 
went  off  to  stable  the  horses  elsewhere. 

It  was  rather  a  melancholy  dinner  we  had  in  a  corner  of 
the  great  room.  The  gloom  that  overspread  Arthur's  face 
was  too  obvious.  In  vain  the  Lieutenant  talked  profoundly 
to  us  of  the  apple  legend  of  Tell  in  its  various  appearances 
(he  had  just  been  cribbing  his  knowledge  from  Professor 
.Buchheim's  excellent  essay)  ;  and  said  he  would  go  with  my 
Lady  next  morning  to  see  the  market-place  where  William 
of  Cloudeslee,  who  afterwards  shot  the  apple  from  off  his  son's 
head,  was  rescued  from  justice  by  two  of  his  fellow  outlaws. 
Tita'was  far  more  desirous  of  seeing  Arthur  in  somewhat 
better  spirits  on  this  the  last  night  of  his  being  with  us. 
On  our  sitting  down  to  dinner,  she  had  said  to  him,  with  a 
pretty  smile — 

"King  Arthur  lives  in  merry  Carlisle, 

And  seemly  is  to  see ; 
And  there  with  him  Queen  Guenever, 
That  bride  so  bright  of  blee." 

But  was  it  not  an  unfortunate  quotation,  however  kindly 
meant  ?  Queen  Gruenever  sat  there — as  frank,  and  gracious, 
and  beautiful  as  a  queen  or  a  bride  might  be — but  not  with 
him.  That  affair  of  the  little  blue  flower  on  the  banks  of 
the  Greta  was  still  rankling  in  his  mind. 

He  bore  himself  bravely,  however.  He  would  not  have 
the  women  remain  up  to  see  him  away  by  the  12.45  train. 
He  bade  good-bye  to  both  of  them  without  wincing ;  and 
looked  after  Bell  for  a  moment  as  she  left ;  and  then  he 
went  away  into  a  large  and  dull  smoking-room,  and  sat 
down  there  in  silence.  The  Lieutenant  and  I  went  with 
him.  He  was  not  inclined  to  speak  ;  and  at  length  von 
Rosen,  apparently  to  break  the  horrible  spell  of  the  place, 
said — 


346  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

"  Will  they  give  the  horse  any  corn  or  water  on  the 
journey  ?  " 

"  I  don't  think  so,"  said  the  lad,  absently;;  "  but  I  have 
telegraphed  for  a  man  to  be  at  the  station  and  take  the  cob 
to  the  nearest  stables." 

And  with  that  he  forced  himself  to  talk  of  some  of  his 
adventures  by  the  way,  while  as  yet  he  was  driving  by  him- 
self ;  though  we  could  see  he  was  thinking  of  something 
very  different.  At  last  the  train  from  the  North  came  in. 
He  shook  hands  with  us  with  a  fine  indifference  ;  and  we 
saw  him  bundle  himself  up  in  a  corner  of  the  carriage,  with 
a  cigar  in  his  mouth.  There  was  nothing  tragic  in  his 
going  away ;  yet  there  was  not  in  all  England  a  more 
wretched  creature  than  the  young  man  who  thus  started  on 
his  lonely  night- journey ;  and  I  afterwards  heard  that,  up 
in  the  railway-hotel  at  this  moment,  one  tender  heart  was 
still  beating  a  little  more  quickly  at  the  thought  of  his 
going,  and  two  wakeful  eyes  were  full  of  unconscious  tears. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 

OVER   THE   BORDER. 

"And  here  awhile  the  Muse, 
High  hovering  o'er  the  broad  cerulean  scene, 
Sees  Caledonia  in  romantic  view : 
Her  airy  mountains,  from  the  waving  main, 
Invested  with  a  keen,  diffusive  sky, 
Breathing  the  soul  acute;  her  forests  huge 
Incult,  robust,  and  tall,  by  Nature's  hand 
Planted  of  old ;  her  azure  lakes  between 
Poured  out  expansive,  and  of  watery  wealth 
Full;  winding,  deep,  and  green,  her  fertile  vales 
With  many  a  cool  translucent  brimming  flood 
Washed  lovely  from  the  Tweed  (pure  parent  stream 
Whose  pastoral  banks  first  heard  my  Doric  reed, 
With  sylvan  Gled,  thy  tributary  brook)." 

THAT  next  morning  in  Carlisle — as  we  walked  about  the 
red  old  city  that  is  set  amid  beautiful  green  meadows 
interlaced  with  streams — there  was  something  about  Queen 
Titania's  manner  that  I  could  not  understand.  She 
arrogated  to  herself  a  certain  importance.  She  treated 
ordinary  topics  of  talk  with  disdain.  She  had  evidently 


OF  A  PHAETON.  347 

become  possessed  of  a  great  secret.  Now,  everyone  knows 
that  the  best  way  to  discover  a  secret  is  to  let  the  owner  of 
it  alone  ;  if  it  is  of  great  importance,  she  is  sure  to  tell  it 
you ;  and  if  it  is  of  no  importance,  your  ignorance  of  it 
won't  hurt  you. 

We  were  up  in  that  fine  old  castle,  leaning  on  the 
parapets  of  red  sandstone  and  gazing  away  towards  the 
north,  where  the  Scotch  hills  were  visible  along  the  horizon. 
That  is  a  pretty  landscape  that  lies  around  Carlisle  Castle 
— the  cheerful  and  grassy  meadows  through  which  the  Eden 
winds  ;  the  woods  and  heights  of  the  country  beyond  ;  the 
far  stretches  of  sand  at  the  mouth  of  the  Solway  ;  and  the 
blue  line  of  hills  telling  of  the  wilder  regions  of  Scotland. 

In  the  courtyard  below  us  we  can  see  the  Lieutenant 
instructing  Bell  in  the  art  of  fortification.  My  Lady  looks 
at  them  for  a  moment,  and  says — 

"  Bell  is  near  her  North  Country  at  last." 

There  is  at  all  events  nothing  very  startling  in  that 
disclosure.  She  pauses  for  a  moment  or  two,  and  is 
apparently  regarding  with  wistful  eyes  the  brilliant  land- 
scape around,  across  which  spaces  of  shadow  are  slowly 
moving  from  the  west.  Then  she  adds — 

"  I  suppose  you  are  rather  puzzled  to  account  for 
Arthur's  coming  up  to  see  us  this  last  time  ?  " 

"  I  never  try  to  account  for  the  insane  actions  of  young 
people  in  love." 

"  That  is  your  own  experience,  I  suppose  ?  "  she  says, 
daintily. 

"  Precisely  so — of  you.    But  what  is  this  about  Arthur  ?  " 

"  Don't  you  really  think  it  looks  absurd — his  having 
come  to  join  us  a  second  time  for  no  apparent  purpose 
whatever  ?  " 

"  Proceed." 

"  Oh,"  she  says,  with  some  little  hauteur,  "  I  am  not 
anxious  to  tell  you  anything." 

"  But  I  am  dying  to  hear.  Have  you  not  marked  my 
impatience  ever  since  we  set  out  this  morning  ?  " 

"  No,  I  haven't.  But  I  will  tell  you  all  the  same,  if  you 
promise  to  say  not  a  word  of  it  to  the  Count." 

"  I  ?  Say  anything  to  the  Lieutenant  ?  The  man  who 
would  betray  the  confidences  of  his  wife — except  when,  it 


348  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

suited  his  own  purpose —  But  what  have  you  got  to  say 
about  Arthur  ?  " 

"  Only  this — that  his  coming  to  see  us  was  not  so  aimless 
as  it  might  appear.  Yesterday  he  asked  Bell  definitely  if 
she  would  marry  him." 

She  smiles — with  an  air  of  pride.  She  knows  she  has 
produced  a  sensation. 

"  Would  you  like  to  know  where  ?  In  an  old  inn  at  High 
Hesket — where  they  seem  to  have  been  left  alone  for  a 
minute  or  two.  And  Bell  told  him  frankly  that  she  could 
not  marry  him." 

Think  of  it !  In  that  deserted  old  inn,  with  its  forsaken 
chambers,  its  empty  stalls,  and  occasional  visits  from  a 
wandering  butcher,  a  tragedy  had  been  enacted  so  quietly 
that  none  of  us  had  known.  If  folks  were  always  to 
transact  the  most  important  business  of  their  lives  in  this 
secretive,  undramatic,'  unobserved  way,  whence  would  come 
all  the  material  for  our  pictures,  and  plays,  and  books  ? 
These  young  people,  so  far  as  we  knew,  had  never  struck 
an  attitude,  nor  uttered  an  exclamation  ;  for,  now  that 
one  had  time  to  remember,  on  our  entering  the  parlour 
where  Bell  and  Arthur  had  been  left,  she  was  calmly 
looking  out  of  the  window,  and  he  came  forward  to  ask  how 
many  miles  it  was  to  Carlisle.  They  got  into  the  vehicles 
outside  as  if  nothing  had  happened.  Nay,  at  dinner,  how 
did  those  young  hypocrites  manage  to  make  believe  that 
they  were  on  something  almost  like  their  old  footing,  so  as 
to  deceive  us  all  ? 

"  My  dear,"  I  say  to  her,  "  we  have  been  robbed  of  a 


scene." 


"  I  am  glad  there  was  no  scene.  There  is  more  likely  to 
be  a  scene  when  Arthur  goes  back  and  tells  Dr.  Ashburton 
that  he  means  to  marry  Katty  Tatham.  He  is  sure  to  do 
that ;  and  you  know  the  Doctor  was  very  much  in  favour 
of  Arthur's  marrying  Bell." 

"  Well,  now,  I  suppose,  all  that  is  wanted  for  the 
completion  of  your  diabolical  project  is  that  Bell  should 
marry  that  young  Prussian  down  there — who  will  be 
arrested  in  a  minute  or  two  if  he  does  not  drop  his  inquiries." 

Tita  looked  up  with  a  stare  of  well-affected  surprise. 

"  That  is  quite  another  matter,  I  assure  you.     You  may 


OF  A  PHAETON.  349 

be  quite  certain  that  Bell  did  not  refuse  Count  von  Rosen 
before  without  some  very  good  reason ;  and  the  mere  fact 
of  Arthur's  going  away  does  not  pledge  her  a  bit.  No — 
quite  the  contrary.  He  would  be  very  foolish  if  he  asked 
her  at  this  moment  to  become  his  wife.  She  is  very  sorry 
about  Arthur ;  and  so  am  I  ;  but  I  confess  that  when  I 
learned  his  case  was  hopeless,  and  that  I  could  do  nothing 
to  help  him,  I  was  greatly  relieved.  Now  don't  breathe  a 
word  of  what  I  have  told  you  to  Count  von  Eosen — Bell 
would  never  forgive  me  if  it  were  to  reach  his  ears.  But 
oh  !  "  says  Queen  Tita,  almost  clasping  her  hands,  while  a 
bright  light  beams  over  her  face,  "I  should  like  to  see 
those  two  married  !  I  am  sure  they  are  so  fond  of  each 
other.  Can  you  doubt  it,  if  you  look  at  them  for  a 
moment  or  two " 

They  had  disappeared  from  the  courtyard  below. 
Almost  at  the  same  moment  that  she  uttered  these  words, 
she  instinctively  turned,  and  lo  !  there  were  Bell  and  her 
companion  advancing  to  join  us.  The  poor  little  woman 
blushed  dreadfully  in  spite  of  all  her  assumption  of  gracious 
self-possession  ;  but  it  was  apparent  that  the  young  folks 
had  not  overheard,  and  no  harm  was  done. 

At  length  we  started  for  Gretna.  There  might  have 
been  a  little  jest  or  two  going  upon  this  subject,  had  not 
some  recollection  of  Arthur  interfered.  Was  it  because  of 
his  departure,  also,  that  the  Lieutenant  forbore  to  press 
Bell  for  the  Scotch  songs  that  she  had  promised  him  ?  Or 
was  it  not  rather  that  the  brightness  and  freshness  of  this 
rare  morning  were  in  themselves  sufficient  exhilaration  ? 
We  drove  down  by  the  green  meadows,  and  over  the  Eden 
bridge.  We  clambered  up  the  hill  opposite,  and  drove  past 
the  suburban  villas  there.  We  had  got  so  much  accustomed 
to  sweet  perfumes  floating  to  us  from  the  hedgerows  and 
the  fields,  that  we  at  first  did  not  perceive  that  certain 
specially  pleasant  odours  were  the  product  of  some  large 
nurseries  close  by.  Then  we  got  out  to  that  "  shedding  "  of 
the  roads,  which  marks  the  junction  of  the  highways 
coming  down  from  Glasgow  and  Edinburgh  ;  and  here  we 
chose  the  former,  which  would  take  us  through  Gretna  and 
Moffat,  leaving  us  to  strike  eastwar4  towards  Edinburgh 
later  on. 


350  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

The  old  mail-coach  road  to  the  North  is  quite  deserted 
now  ;  but  it  is  a  pleasant  road  for  all  that,  well-made  and 
smooth,  with  tracts  of  grass  along  each  side,  and  with  tall 
and  profuse  hedges  that  only  partially  hide  from  view  the 
undulating  landscape  with  its  blue  line  of  hills  beyond. 
Mile  after  mile,  however,  we  did  not  meet  a  single  creature 
on  this  deserted  highway  ;  and  when  at  length  we  reached 
a  solitary  turnpike,  the  woman  in  charge  thereof  regarded 
us  with  a  look  of  surprise,  as  if  we  were  a  party  of 
runaways  who  had  blundered  into  the  notion  that  Gretna- 
green  marriages  were  still  possible. 

The  Lieutenant,  who  had  pulled  up,  got  talking  with  the 
woman  about  these  marriages,  and  the  incidents  that  must 
have  occurred  at  this  very  turnpike,  and  of  the  stories  in  the 
neighbourhood  about  that  picturesque  and  gay  old  time. 
She — with  her  eyes  still  looking  towards  our  Bell,  as  if  she 
suspected  that  the  young  man  had  quite  an  exceptional 
interest  in  speaking  of  marriages — told  us  some  of  her  own 
reminiscences  with  a  great  deal  of  good  humour  ;  but  it  is 
sad  to  think  that  these  anecdotes  were  chiefly  of  quarrels 
and  separations — some  of  them  occurring  before  the  happy 
pair  had  crossed  the  first  bridge  on  their  homeward  route. 
Whether  these  tales  were  not  edifying,  or  whether  a  great 
bank  of  clouds,  coming  up  from  the  north  against  the 
wind,  looked  ominous,  Bell  besought  her  companion  to  drive 
on  ;  and  so  on  he  went. 

It  was  a  lonely  place  in  which  to  be  caught  by  a  thunder- 
storm. We  came  to  the  river  Esk,  and  found  its  shallow 
waters  flowing  down  a  broad  and  shingly  channel,  leaving 
long  islands  of  sand  between.  There  was  not  a  house  in 
sight — only  the  marshy  meadows,  the  river-beds,  and  the 
low  flats  of  sand  stretching  out  to  the  Sol  way  Frith.  Scot- 
land was  evidently  bent  on  giving  us  a  wet  welcome.  From 
the  hills  in  the  north  those  black  masses  of  vapour  came 
crowding  up,  and  a  strange  silence  fell  over  the  land. 
Then  a  faint  glimmer  of  red  appeared  somewhere  ;  and  a 
low  noise  was  heard.  Presently  a  long  narrow  streak  of 
forked  lightning  went  parting  across  the  black  background  ; 
there  was  a  smart  roll  of  thunder  ;  and  then  all  around  us 
the  first  pattering  of  heavy  rain  was  heard  among  the 
leaves.  We  had  the  hood  put  up  hastily.  Bell  and  Tita 


OF  A  PHAETON.  351 

were  speedily  swathed  in  shawls  and  water-proofs  :  and  the 
Lieutenant  sent  the  horses  forward  at  a  good  pace,  hoping 
to  reach  Gretna  Green  before  we  should  be  washed  into  the 
Solway.  Then  began  the  wild-  play  of  the  elements.  On 
all  sides  of  us  the  bewildering  glare  of  steel-blue  seemed  to 
flash  about ;  and  the  horses,  terrified  by  the  crackling  peals 
of  thunder,  went  plunging  on  through  the  torrents  of  rain. 

"  Mademoiselle,"  cried  the  Lieutenant,  with  the  water 
streaming  over  his  face  and  down  his  great  beard,  "  your 
Westmoreland  rain — it  was  nothing  to  this." 

Bell  sat  mute  and  patient,  with  her  face  down  to  escape 
the  blinding  torrents.  Perhaps  had  we  crossed  the  Border 
in  beautiful  weather,  she  would  have  descended  from  the 
phaeton,  and  pulled  some  pretty  flower  to  take  away  with 
her  as  a  memento ;  but  now  we  could  see  nothing,  hear 
nothing,  think  of  nothing,  but  the  crashes  of  the  thunder,  the 
persistent  waterfall,  and  those  sudden  glares  that  from 
time  to  time  robbed  us  of  our  eyesight  for  several  seconds. 
Some  little  time  before  reaching  the  river  Sark,  which  is 
here  the  boundary-line  between  the  two  countries,  we  passed 
a  small  wayside  inn  ;  but  we  did  not  think  of  stopping 
there,  when  Gretna  promised  to  afford  us  more  certain 
shelter.  We  drove  on  and  over  the  Sark.  We  pulled  up 
for  a  moment  at  the  famous  toll-house. 

"  We  are  over  the  Border  !  "  cried  Bell,  as  we  rattled  on 
again ;  but  what  of  Scotland  could  she  see  in  this  wild 
whirlwind  of  wet  ? 

Surely  no  runaway  lover  was  ever  more  glad  to  see  that 
small  church  perched  up  on  a  hillock  among  trees  than  we 
were  when  we  came  in  sight  of  Gretna.  But  where  was 
the  inn  ?  There  were  a  few  cottages  by  the  wayside  ;  and 
there  was  one  woman  who  kindly  came  out  to  look  at  us. 
Then  no  sooner  had  the  Lieutenant  heard  that  there  was 
no  inn  in  the  place,  than,  without  a  word — but  with  an  awful 
look  of  determination  on  his  face — he  turned  the  horses 
clean  round  and  set  them  off  at  a  gallop  down  the  road  to 
the  Sark. 

"  Perhaps  they  can't  take  us  in  at  that  small  place,"  said 
my  Lady. 

"  They  must  take  us  in,"  said  he,  between  his  teeth  ;  and 
with  that  we  found  ourselves  in  England  again. 


352  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

He  drove  us  up  to  the  front  of  the  small  square  building. 
"With  his  whip-hand  he  dashed  away  the  rain  from  his  eyes, 
and-called  aloud.  Lo  !  what  strange  vision  was  that  which 
appeared  to  us,  in  this  lonely  place,  in  the  middle  of  the 
tempest  ?  Through  the  mist  of  the  rain  we  beheld  the 
doorway  of  the  inn  suddenly  become  the  frame  of  a  beauti- 
ful -picture  ;  and  the  picture  was  that  of  a  fair-haired  and 
graceful  young  creature  of  eighteen,  in  a  costume  of  pearly 
grey  touched  here  and  there  with  lines  of  blue,  who 
regarded  us  with  a  winning  expression  of  wonder  and  pity 
in  her  large  and  innocent  eyes.  Her  appearance  there 
seemed  like  a  glimmer  of  sunlight  shining  through  the 
wet  ;  and  a  second  or  two  elapsed  before  the  Lieutenant 
could  collect  himself  so  far  as  to  ask  whether  this  angel  of 
deliverance  could  not  shelter  us  from  the  rude  violence  of 
the  storm. 

"  We^have  no  ostler,"  says  the  young  lady,  in  a  timid  way. 

"  Have  you  any  stables  ?  "  says  the  young  man. 

"  Yes,  we  have  stables — shall  I  show  them  to  you  ?  " 

"  No — no  !  "  he  cries,  quite  vehemently.  "  Don't  you 
come  out  into  the  rain — not  at  all !  I  will  find  them  out 
very  well  myself  ;  but  you  must  take  in  the  ladies  here,  and 
get  them  dry." 

And  when  we  had  consigned  Bell  and  Tita  to  the  care  of 
the  young  lady,  who  received  them  with  a  look  of  much 
friendliness  and  concern  in  her  pretty  face,  we  went  off  and 
sought  out  the  stables. 

"  Now,  look  here,  my  good  friend,"  says  von  Eosen ; 
"  we  are  both  wet.  The  horses  have  to  be  groomed — that 
is  very  good  work  to  dry  one  person  ;  and  so  you  go  into 
the  house,  and  change  your  clothes,  and  I  will  see  after  the 
horses,  yes  ?  " 

"  My  young  friend,  it  is  no  use  your  being  very  com- 
plaisant to  me,"  I  observe  to  him.  "I  don't  mean  to 
intercede  with  Bell  for  you." 

"  Would  you  intercede  with  that  beautiful  young  lady  of 
the  inn  for  me  ?  Well,  now,  that  is  a  devil  of  a  language, 
yours.  How  am  I  to  address  a  girl  who  is  a  stranger  to 
me,  and  to  whom  I  wish  to  be  respectful  ?  I  cannot  call 
]ier  Mademoiselle,  which  is  only  an  old  nickname  that 
Mademoiselle  used  to  have  in  Bonn,  as  you  know.  You 


OF  A  PHAETON.  353 

tell  me  I  cannot  address  a  young  lady  as  '  Miss,'  without 
mentioning  her  other  name,  and  I  do  not  know  it.  Yet  I 
cannot  address  her  with  nothing,  as  if  she  were  a  servant. 
Tell  me  now — what  does  an  English  gentleman  say  to  a 
young  lady  whom  he  may  assist  at  a  railway  station  abroad, 
and  does  not  know  her  name  ?  And  what,  if  he  does  not 
catch  her  name,  when  he  is  introduced  in  a  house  ?  He 
cannot  say  Mademoiselle.  He  cannot  say  Fraulein.  He 
cannot  say  Miss." 

"  He  says  nothing  at  all." 

"  But  that  is  rudeness — it  is  awkward  to  you  not  to  be 
able  to  address  her." 

"  Why  are  you  so  anxious  to  know  how  to  talk  to  this 
young  lady  ?  " 

"  Because  I  mean  to  ask  her  if  it  is  impossible  that  she 
can  get  a  little  corn  for  the  horses." 

It  was  tiresome  work — that  getting  the  animals  out  of  the 
wet  harness,  and  grooming  them  without  the  implements  of 
grooming.  Moreover,  we  could  find  nothing  but  a  handful 
of  hay  ;  and  it  was  fortunate  that  the  nosebags  we  had  with 
us  still  contained  a  small  allowance  of  oats  and  beans. 

But  what  a  comfortable  little  family-party  we  subse- 
quently made  up  in  the  large  kitchen  !  Tita  had  struck  up 
a  fine  friendship  with  the  gentle  and  pretty  daughter  of  the 
house  ;  the  old  lady,  her  mother,  was  busy  in  having  our  wraps 
and  rugs  hung  up  to  dry  before  the  capacious  fireplace  ; 
and  the  servant-maid  had  begun  to  cook  some  chops  for  us. 
Bell,  too — who  might  have  figured  as  the  elder  sister  of 
this  flaxen-haired  and  frank-eyed  creature,  who  had  appeared 
to  us  in  the  storm — was  greatly  interested  in  her  ;  and  was 
much  pleased  to  hear  her  distinctly  and  proudly  claim  to  be 
Scotch,  although  it  was  her  misfortune  to  live  a  short  dis- 
tance on  the  wrong  side  of  the  Border.  With  that  the 
two  girls  fell  to  talking  about  Scotch  and  Cumbrian  words  ; 
but  here  Bell  had  a  tremendous  advantage  ;  and  pushed  it 
to  such  an  extreme  that  her  opponent,  with  a  pretty  blush 
and  a  laugh,  said  she  did  not  know  that  the  English  young 
ladies  knew  so  much  of  Scotch.  And  when  Bell  protested 
that  she  would  not  be  called  English,  the  girl  only  stared. 
You  see,  she  had  never  had  the  benefit  of  hearing  the 
Lieutenant  discourse  on  the  history  of  Strathclyde. 

2  A 


354  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

Well,  we  had  our  chops  and  what  not  in  the  parlour  of 
the  inn ;  but  it  was  remarkable  how  soon  the  Lieutenant 
proposed  that  we  should  return  to  the  kitchen.  He  pre- 
tended that  he  was  anxious  to  learn  Scotch  ;  and  affected  a 
profound  surprise  that  the  young  lady  of  the  house  should 
not  know  the  meaning  of  the  word  "  spurtle."  When  we 
went  into  the  kitchen,  however,  it  was  to  the  mamma  that 
he  addressed  himself  chiefly  ;  and  behold  !  she  speedily 
revealed  to  the  young  soldier  that  she  was  the  widow  of  one 
of  the  Gretna  priests.  More  than  that  I  don't  mean  to  say. 
Some  of  you  young  fellows  who  may  read  this  might  perhaps 
like  to  know  the  name  and  the  precise  whereabouts  of  the 
fair  wild-flower  that  we  found  blooming  up  in  these  remote 
solitudes  ;  but  neither  shall  be  revealed.  If  there  was  any 
one  of  us  who  fell  in  love  with  the  sweet  and  gentle  face,  it  was 
Queen  Tita  ;  and  I  know  not  what  compacts  about  photo- 
graphs may  not  have  been  made  between  the  two  women. 

Meanwhile  the  Lieutenant  had  established  himself  as  a 
great  favourite  with  the  elderly  lady ;  and  by  and  by  she 
left  the  kitchen,  and  came  back  with  a  sheet  of  paper  in 
her  hand,  which  she  presented  to  him.  It  turned  out  to  be 
one  of  the  forms  of  the  marriage-certificates  used  by  her 
husband  in  other  days  ;  and  for  curiosity's  sake  I  append 
it  below,  suppressing  the  name  of  the  priest  for  obvious 
reasons. 

KINGDOM   OF    SCOTLAND. 

COUNTY     OF    DUMFKIES. 

Jjarisjy  of  feinu. 

WtytZt  WCt  to  (JTertifg  to  all  whom  these  presents  shall  come,  that  *  *  * 
from  the  parish  of  *  *  *  in  the  County  of  *  *  *  and  *  *  *  from  the 
parish  of  *  *  *  in  the  County  of  *  *  *  "being  now  here  present,  and 
having  declared  themselves  single  persons,  were  this  day  Married  after 
the  manner  of  the  Laws  of  the  Church  of  England,  and  agreeable  to  the 
Laws  of  Scotland ;  as  Witness  our  hands,  Allison's  Bank  Toll-house,  this 
*  *  *  day  of  *  *  *  18  . 


Before      *      * 
OTitncssrs, 


OF  A  PHAETON.  355 

"  That  is  a  dangerous  paper  to  carry  about  wi'  ye,"  said 
the  old  woman,  with  a  smile. 

"  Why  so  ?  "  inquired  the  Lieutenant. 

"  Because  ye  might  be  tempted  to  ask  a  young  lecldy 
to  sign  her  name  there  ;  "  and  what  should  prevent  that 
innocent-eyed  girl  turning  just  at  this  moment  to  look  with 
a  pleased  smile  at  our  Bell  ?  The  Lieutenant  laughed,  in 
an  embarrassed  way,  and  said  the  rugs  might  as  well  be 
taken  from  before  the  lire,  as  they  were  quite  dry  now. 

I  think  none  of  us  would  have  been  sorry  to  have  stayed 
the  night  in  this  homely  and  comfortable  little  inn  ;  but  we 
wished  to  get  on  to  Lockerbie,  so  as  to  reach  Edinburgh 
in  other  two  days.  Moreover,  the  clouds  had  broken  ;  and 
there  was  a  pale  glimmer  of  sunshine  appearing  over  the 
dark  green  woods  and  meadows.  We  had  the  horses  put 
into  the  phaeton  again  ;  and  with  many  a  friendly  word  of 
thanks  to  the  good  people  who  had  been  so  kind  to  us,  we 
started  once  more  to  cross  the  Border. 

"  And  what  do  you  think  of  the  first  Scotch  family  you 
have  seen  ?  "  says  Queen  Tita  to  the  Lieutenant,  as  we  go 
over  the  bridge  again. 

"  Madame,"  he  says,  quite  earnestly,  "  I  did  dream  for  a 
moment  I  was  in  Germany  again — everything  so  friendly 
and  homely  ;  and  the  young  lady  not  too  proud  to  wait  on 
you,  and  help  the  servant  in  the  cooking  ;  and  then,  when 
that  is  over,  to  talk  to  you  with  good  education  and 
intelligence,  and  great  simpleness  and  frankness.  Oh,  that 
is  very  good — whether  it  is  Scotch,  or  German,  or  any  other 
country — -the  simple  ways,  and  the  friendliness,  and  the 
absence  of  all  the  fashions  and  the  hypocrisy." 

"That  young  lady  was  very  fashionably  dressed,  Count 
von  Rosen,"  says  Tita,  with  a  smile. 

"  That  is  nothing,  Madame.  Did  she  not  bring  into  us 
our  dinner,  just  as  the  daughter  of  the  house  in  a  German 
country  inn  would  do,  as  a  compliment  to  you,  and  not  to 
let  the  servant  come  in  ?  Is  it  debasement,  do  you  think  ? 
No.  You  do  respect  her  for  it ;  and  you  yourself,  Madame, 
you  did  speak  to  her  as  if  she  were  a  friend  of  yours 
—and  why  not,  when  you  find  people  like  that,  honest  and 
good-willing  towards  you  ?  " 

What  demon  of  mischief  was  it  that  prompted  Bell  to 

2  A  2 


35"6  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

sing  that  song  as  we  drove  through  the  darkening  woods 
in  the  damp  twilight  ?  The  Lieutenant  had  just  got  out 
her  guitar  for  her  when  he  was  led  into  those  fierce 
statements  quoted  above.  And  Bell,  with  a  great  gravity, 


"  Farewell  to  Glenshalloch,  a  farewell  for  ever, 
Farewell  to  my  wee  cot  that  stands  by  the  river ; 
The  fall  is  loud-sounding  in  voices  that  vary, 
And  the  echoes  surrounding  lament  with  my  Mary." 

This  much  may  be  said,  that  the  name  of  the  young  lady 
of  whom  they  had  been  speaking  was  also  Mary;  and  the 
Lieutenant,  divining  some  profound  sarcasm  in  the  song, 
began  to  laugh  and  protest  that  it  was  not  because  the  girl 
was  pretty  and  gentle  that  he  had  discovered  so  much 
excellence  in  the  customs  of  Scotch  households.  Then  Bell 
sang  once  more — as  the  sun  went  down  behind  the  woods, 
and  we  heard  the  streams  murmuring  in  deep  valleys  by  the 
side  of  the  road — 

"Hame,  hame,  hame,  O  hame  fain  would  I  be, 
Harne,  hame,  hame,  to  my  ain  countree ; 
There's  an  eye  that  ever  weeps,  and  a  fair  face  will  be  fain, 
As  I  pass  through  Annan  water,  wi'  my  bonny  bands  again ! " 

We  drove  into  the  long  village  of  Ecclefechan,  and  paused 
for  a  moment  or  two  in  front  of  the  Bush  Inn,  to  let 
the  horses  have  a  draught  of  water  and  oatmeal.  The 
Lieutenant,  who  had  descended  to  look  after  this  pre- 
scription, now  came  out  from  the  inn  bearing  a  small  tray 
with  some  tumblers  on  it. 

"  Madame,"  he  said,  "  here  is  Scotch  whisky — you  must 
all  drink  it,  for  the  good  of  the  country." 

"  And  of  ourselves,"  added  one  of  us,  calling  attention  to 
the  chill  dampness  of  the  night  air. 

My  Lady  pleaded  for  a  bit  of  sugar,  but  that  was  not 
allowed ;  and  when  she  had  been  induced  to  take  about  a 
third  of  the  Lieutenant's  preparation,  she  put  down  the 
glass  with  an  air  of  having  done  her  duty.  As  for  Bell,  she 
drank  pretty  nearly  half  the  quantity ;  and  the  chances 
are,  that  if  the  Lieutenant  had  handed  her  prussic  acid, 
she  would  have  felt  herself  bound,  as  a  compliment,  tg 
accept  it. 


OF  A  PHAETON.  357 

Darker  and  darker  grew  the  landscape  as  we  drove  through 
the  thick  woods  ;  and  when  at  last  we  got  into  Lockerbie, 
there  was  scarcely  enough  light  of  any  sort  to  show  us  that 
the  town,  like  most  Scotch  country  towns  and  villages,  was 
whitewashed.  In  the  inn  at  which  we  put  up,  appropriately 
named  the  Blue  Bell,  the  Lieutenant  once  more  remarked 
on  the  exceeding  homeliness  and  friendliness  of  the  Scotch. 
The  landlord  simply  adopted  us,  and  gave  us  advice  in  a 
grave,  paternal  fashion,  about  what  we  should  have  for 
supper.  The  waiter  who  attended  us  took  quite  an  amiable 
interest  in  our  trip  ;  and  said  he  would  himself  go  and  see 
that  the  horses  which  had  accomplished  such  a  feat  were 
being  properly  looked  after.  Bell  was  immensely  proud 
that  she  could  understand  one  or  two  phrases  that  were 
rather  obscure  to  the  rest  of  the  party  ;  and  the  Lieutenant 
still  further  delighted  her  by  declaring  that  he  wished  we 
could  travel  for  months  through  this  friendly  land,  which 
reminded  him  of  his  own  country.  Perhaps  the  inquisitive 
reader,  having  learned  that  we  drank  Scotch  whisky  at  the 
Bush  Inn  of  Ecclefechan,  would  like  to  know  what  we 
drank  at  the  Blue  Bell  of  Lockerbie.  He  may  address  a 
letter  to  Queen  Titania  on  that  subject,  and  he  will  doubt- 
less receive  a  perfectly  frank  answer. 

[Note  ~by  Queen  Titania. — "  I  do  not  see  why  our  pretty  Bell  should 
be  made  the  chief  subject  of  all  the  foregoing  revelations.  I  will  say 
this,  that  she  and  myself  were  convinced  that  we  never  saw  two  men 
more  jealous  of  each  other  than  those  two  were  in  that  inn  near  the 
Border.  The  old  lady  was  quite  amused  by  it;  but  I  do  not  think  the 
girl  herself  noticed  it ;  for  she  is  a  very  innocent  and  gentle  young 
thing,  and  has  probably  had  no  experience  of  such  absurdities.  But  I 
would  like  to  ask  who  first  mentioned  that  subject  of  photographs  ; 
and  who  proposed  to  send  her  a  whole  series  of  engravings  ;  and  who 
offered  to  present  her  with  a  volume  of  German  songs.  If  Arthur  had 
been  there,  we  should  have  had  the  laugh  all  on  our  side  ;  but  now  I 
suppose  they  will  deny  that  anything  of  the  kind  took  place — with 
the  ordinary  candour  of  gentlemen  who  are  found  out."'] 


358  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

CHAPTER  XXX. 

TWEED   SIDE. 

"  Ah,  happy  Lycius ! — for  she  was  a  maid 
More  beautiful  than  ever  twisted  braid, 
Or  sighed,  or  blushed,  or  on  spring-flowered  lea 
Spread  a  green  kirtle  to  the  minstrelsy; 
A  virgin  purest-lipped,  yet  in  the  lore 
Of  love  deep  learned  to  the  red  heart's  core." 

THE  very  first  object  that  we  saw,  on  this  the  first 
morning  of  our  waking  in  Scotland,  was  a  small  boy  of 
seven  or  eight,  brown-faced,  yellow-haired,  bare-footed,  who 
was  marching  along  in  the  sunlight  with  a  bag  of  school- 
books  on  his  back  about  as  big  as  himself. 

"  Oh,  the  brave  little  fellow  !  "  cries  Tita,  regarding  him 
from  the  door  of  the  inn  with  a  great  softness  in  her 
brown  eyes.  "  Don't  you  think  he  will  be  Lord  Chancellor 
some  day  ?  " 

The  future  Lord  Chancellor  went  steadily  on,  his  small 
brown  feet  taking  no  heed  of  the  stones  in  the  white  road. 

"I  think,"  says  Tita,  suddenly  plunging  her  hand  into 
her  pocket,  "  I  think  I  should  like  to  give  him  a  shilling.". 

"  No,  Madame,"  says  one  of  us  to  her,  sternly  ;  "  you  shall 
not  bring  into  this  free  land  the  corrupting  influences  of 
the  south.  It  is  enough  that  you  have  debased  the  district 
around  your  own  home.  If  you  offered  that  young  patriot 
a  shilling,  he  would  turn  again  and  rend  you.  But  if  you 
offered  him  a  halfpenny,  now,  to  buy  bools — 

At  this  moment,  somehow  or  other,  Bell  and  our 
Lieutenant  appear  together  ;  and  before  we  know  where 
we  are,  the  girl  has  darted  across  the  street  in  pursuit  of 
that  small  urchin. 

"  What  are  bools  ?  "  asks  the  Lieutenant  gravely. 

"  Objects  of  interest  to  the  youthful  student." 

Then  we  see,  in  the  white  glare  of  the  sun,  a  wistful,  small, 
fair-complexioned  face  turned  towards  that  young  lady 
with  the  voluminous  light  brown  hair.  She  is  apparently 
talking  to  him,  but  in  a  different  tongue  from  his  own,  and 
he  looks  frightened.  Then  the  sunlight  glitters  on  two 
white  coins,  and  Bell  pats  him  kindly  on  the  shoulder  ;  and 


OF  A  PHAETON.  359 

doubtless  the  little  fellow  proceeds  on  his  way  to  school 
in  a  sort  of  wild  and  wonderful  dream,  having  an  awful 
sense  that  he  has  been  spoken  to  by  a  marvellous  and 
gracious  princess. 

"  As  I  live,"  says  my  Lady,  with  a  great  surprise,  "  she 
has  given  him  two  half-crowns  !  " 

Queen  Titania  looks  at  me.  There  is  a  meaning  in  her 
look — partly  interrogation,  partly  conviction,  yet  wholly 
kind  and  pleasant.  It  has  dawned  upon  her  that  girls  who 
are  not  blessed  with  abundant  pocket-money  do  not  give 
away  five  shillings  to  a  passing  schoolboy  without  some 
profound  emotional  cause.  Bell  comes  across  the  road, 
looking  vastly  pleased  and  proud,  but  somehow  avoiding 
our  eyes.  She  would  have  gone  into  the  inn,  but  that 
my  Lady's  majestic  presence  (you  could  have  fanned  her 
out  of  the  way  with  a  butterfly's  wing !)  barred  the 
entrance. 

"  Have  you  been  for  a  walk  this  morning,  Bell  ? "  she 
asked,  with  a  fine  air  of  indifference. 

"Yes,  Madame,"  replied  our  Uhlan — as  if  he  had  any 
business  to  answer  for  our  Bell. 

"  Where  did  you  go  ?  " 

"  Oh,"  said  the  girl,  with  some  confusion,  "  we  went 
— we  went  away  from  the  town  a  little  way— I  don't 
exactly  know " 

And  with  that  she  escaped  into  the  inn. 

"  Madame,"  says  the  Lieutenant,  with  a  great  apparent 
effort,  while  he  kept  his  eyes  looking  towards  the  pave- 
ment, and  there  was  a  brief  touch  of  extra  colour  in  his 
brown  face,  "  Madame— I — I  am  asked — indeed.  Made- 
moiselle, she  was  good  enough — she  is  to  be  my  wife — and 
she  did  ask  me  if  I  would  tell  you " 

And  somehow  he  put  out  his  hand — just  as  a  German 
boy  shakes  hands  with  you,  in  a  timid  fashion,  after  you 
have  tipped  him  at  school — and  took  Tita's  hand  in  his,  as 
if  to  thank  her  for  a  great  gift.  And  the  little  womanjwas 
so  touched,  and  so  mightily  pleased,  that  I  thought  "she 
would  have  kissed  him  before  my  very  face,  in  the  open 
streets  of  Lockerbie.  All  this  scene,  you  must  remember, 
took  place  on  the  doorstep  of  an  odd  little  inn  in  a  small 
Scotch  country  town.  There  were  few  spectators.  The 


360  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

sun  was  shining  down  on  the  white  fronts  of  the  cottages, 
and  blinking  on  the  windows.  A  cart  of  hay  stood 
opposite  to  us,  with  the  horse  slowly  munching  inside 
his  nosebag.  We  ourselves  were  engaged  in  peacefully 
waiting  for  breakfast  when  the  astounding  news  burst 
upon  us. 

"Oh,  I  am  very,  very  glad,  Count  von  Rosen,"  says 
Tita  ;  and,  sure  enough,  there  was  gladness  written  all  over 
her  face  and  in  her  eyes.  And  then  in  a  minute  she  had 
sneaked  away  from  us ;  and  I  knew  she  had  gone  to  seek 
out  Bell,  and  stroke  her  hair,  and  put  her  arms  round 
her  neck,  and  say,  "Oh,  my  dear,"  with  a  little  sob  of 
delight. 

Well,  I  turn  to  the  Lieutenant.  Young  men,  when  they 
have  been  accepted,  wear  a  most  annoying  air  of  self- 
satisfaction. 

I*-  "Touching  those  settlements,"  I  say  to  him  ;  "have  you 
any  remark  to  make  ?  " 

The  young  man  begins  to  laugh. 

"It  is  no  laughing  matter.  I  am  Bell's  guardian.  You 
have  not  got  my  consent  yet." 

"We  can  do  without  it — it  is  not  an  opera,"  he  says, 
with  some  more  of  that  insolent  coolness.  "  But  you 
would  be  pleased  to  prevent  the  marriage,  yes  ?  For  I 
have  seen  it  often — that  you  are  more  jealous  about 
Mademoiselle  than  about  anyone — and  it  is  a  wonder  to  me 
that  you  did  not  interfere  before.  But  as  for  Madame,  now 
— yes,  she  is  my  very  good  friend,  and  has  helped  me  very 
much." 

Such  is  the  gratitude  of  those  conceited  young  fellows, 
and  their  penetration,  too  !  If  he  had  but  known  that  only 
a  few  days  before  Tita  had  taken  a  solemn  vow  to  help 
Arthur  by  every  means  in  her  power,  so  as  to  atone  for  any 
injustice  she  might  have  done  him !  But  all  at  once  he 
says,  with  quite  a  burst  of  eloquence  (for  him) — 

"  My  dear  friend,  how  am  I  to  thank  you  for  all  this  ?  I 
did  not  know  when  I  proposed  to  come  to  England  that  this 
holiday  tour  would  bring  me  so  much  happiness.  It  does 
appear  to  me  I  am  grown  very  rich — so  rich  I  should  like 
to  give  something  to  everybody  this  morning — and  make 
everyone  happy  as  myself " 


OF  A  PHAETON.  361 

"  Just  as  Bell  gave  the  boy  five  shillings.  All  right. 
When  you  get  to  Edinburgh  you  can  buy  Tita  a  Scotch 
collie — she  is  determined  to  have  a  collie,  because  Mrs. 
Quinet  got  a  prize  for  one  at  the  Crystal  Palace.  Come  in 
to  breakfast." 

Bell  was  sitting  there  with  her  face  in  shadow  ;  and  Tita, 
laughing  in  a  most  affectionate  way,  was  standing  beside  her 
with  her  hands  on  the  girl's  shoulder.  Bell  did  not  look 
up  ;  nothing  was  said.  A  very  friendly  waiter  put  breakfast 
on  the  table.  The  landlord  dropped  in  to  bid  us  good 
morning,  and  see  that  we  were  comfortable.  Even  the 
ostler,  the  Lieutenant  told  us  afterwards,  of  this  Scotch  inn 
had  conversed  with  him  in  a  shrewd,  straightforward,  and 
sensible  fashion,  treating  him  as  a  young  man  who  would 
naturally  like  to  have  the  advice  of  his  elders. 

The  young  people  were  vastly  delighted  with  the  homely 
ways  of  this  Scotch  inn ;  and  began  to  indulge  in  vague 
theories  about  parochial  education,  independence  of  char- 
acter, and  the  hardihood  of  northern  races — all  tending  to 
the  honour  and  glory  of  Scotland.  You  would  have 
thought,  to  hear  them  go  on  in  this  fashion,  that  all  the 
good  of  the  world,  and  all  its  beauty  and  kindliness,  were 
concentrated  in  the  Scotch  town  of  Lockerbie  ;  and  that  in 
Lockerbie  no  place  was  so  much  the  pet  of  fortune  as  the 
Blue  Bell  Inn. 

"  And  to  think,"  says  Bell,  with  a  gentle  regret,  "  that 
to-morrow  is  the  last  day  of  our  driving." 

"  But  not  the  last  of  our  holiday,  Mademoiselle,"  says 
the  Lieutenant.  "  Is  it  necessary  that  any  of  us  should  go 
back  to  England  for  a  week  or  two,  or  a  month,  or  two 
months  ?  " 

Of  course  the  pair  of  them  would  have  liked  very  well  to 
start  off  on  another  month's  excursion,  just  as  this  one  was 
finished.  But  parents  and  guardians  have  their  duties. 
Very  soon  they  would  be  in  a  position  to  control  their  own 
actions  ;  and  then  they  were  welcome  to  start  for  Kams- 
chatka  or  the  North  Pole. 

All  that  could  be  said  in  praise  of  Scotland  had  been  said 
in  the  inn ;  and  now,  as  Castor  and  Pollux  took  us  away 
from  Lockerbie  into  the  hillier  regions  of  Dumfries-shire, 
our  young  people  were  wholly  at  a  loss  for  words  to  describe 


362  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

their  delight.  It  was  a  glorious  day,  to  begin  with  :  a 
pleasant  breeze  tempering  the  hot  sun,  and  blowing  about 
the  perfume  of  sweet-briar  from  the  fronts  of  the  stone 
cottages,  and  bringing  us  warm  and  resinous  odours  from 
the  woods  of  larch  and  spruce.  We  crossed  deep  glens, 
along  the  bottom  of  which  ran  clear  brown  streams  over 
beds  of  pebbles.  The  warm  light  fell  on  the  sides  of  those 
rocky  clefts  and  lit  up  the  masses  of  young  rowan-trees  and 
the  luxuriant  ferns  along  the  moist  banks.  There  was  a 
richly  cultivated  and  undulating  country  lying  all  around  ; 
but  few  houses,  and  those  chiefly  farms.  Far  beyond,  the 
rounded  hills  of  Moffat  rose  soft  and  blue  into  the  white 
sky.  Then,  in  the  stillness  of  the  bright  day,  we  came 
upon  a  wayside  school ;  and  as  it  happened  to  be  dinner- 
time we  stopped  to  watch  the  stream  of  little  ones  come  out. 
It  was  a  pretty  sight,  under  the  shadow  of  the  trees,  to  see 
that  troop  of  children  come  into  the  country  road — most  of 
them  girls,  in  extremely  white  pinafores,  and  nearly  all  of 
them,  boys  and  girls,  being  yellow-haired,  clear-eyed,  healthy- 
looking  children,  who  kept  very  silent  and  stared  shyly  at 
the  horses  and  the  phaeton.  All  the  younger  ones  had  bare 
feet,  stained  with  the  sun  ;  and  their  yellow  hair — which 
seemed  almost  white  by  the  side  of  their  berry-brown 
cheeks — was  free  from  cap  or  bonnet.  They  did  not  say, 
"  Chuck  us  a  'apenny."  They  did  not  raise  a  cheer  as  we 
drove  off.  They  stood  by  the  side  of  the  road,  close  by  the 
hawthorn  hedge,  looking  timidly  after  us  ;  and  the  last  that 
we  saw  of  them  was  that  they  had  got  into  the  middle  of 
the  path  and  were  slowly  I  going  off  home — a  small,  bright, 
and  various-coloured  group  under  the  soft  green  twilight  of 
an  avenue  of  trees. 

As  we  drove  on  through  the  clear,  warm  day,  careless  and 
content,  the  two  women  had  all  the  talking  to  themselves  ; 
and  a  strange  use  they  made  of  their  opportunities.  If  the 
guardian  angels  of  those  two  creatures  happen  to  have  any 
sense  of  humour,  they  must  have  laughed  as  they  looked 
down  and  overheard.  You  may  remember  that  when  it  was 
first  proposed  to  take  this  Prussian  Lieutenant  with  us  on 
our  summer  •  tour,  both  Bell  and  Queen  Tita  professed  the 
most  deadly  hatred  of  the  German  nation,  and  were  nearly 
weeping  tears  over  the  desolate  condition  of  France.  That 


OF  A  PHAETON.  363 

was  about  six  months  before.  Now,  thirty  millions  of 
people,  either  in  the  south  or  north  of  Europe,  cannot  change 
their  collective  character — if  such  a  thing  exists — within 
the  space  of  six  months  ;  but  on  this  bright  morning  you 
would  have  fancied  that  the  women  were  vying  with  each 
other  to  prove  that  all  the  domestic  virtues,  and  all  the 
science  and  learning  of  civilization,  and  all  the  arts  that 
beautify  life,  were  the  exclusive  property  of  the  Teutons. 
My  Lady  was  a  later  convert — had  she  not  made  merry 
only  the  other  day  over  Bell's  nai've  confession  that  she 
thought  the  German  nation  as  good  as  the  French  nation  ? — 
but  now  that  she  had  gone  over  to  the  enemy,  she  altogether 
distanced  Bell  in  the  production  of  theories,  facts,  quota- 
tions, and  downright  personal  opinion.  She  had  lived  a 
little  longer,  you  see,  and  knew  more ;  and  perhaps  she 
had  a  trifle  more  audacity  in  suppressing  awkward  facts. 
At  all  events  the  Lieutenant  was  partly  abashed  and  partly 
amused  by  her  warm  advocacy  of  German  character, 
literature,  music,  and  a  thousand  other  things  ;  and  by  her 
endeavours  to  prove — out  of  the  historical  lessons  she  had 
taught  her  two  boys — that  there  had  always  prevailed  in  this 
country  a  strong  antipathy  to  the  French  and  all  their  ways. 

"  Their  language  too,"  I  remark,  to  keep  the  ball  rolling. 
"Observe  the  difference  between  the  polished,  fluent,  and 
delicate  German,  and  the  barbaric  dissonance  and  jumble  of 
the  French  !  How  elegant  the  one,  how  harsh  the  other  ! 
If  you  were  to  take  Bossuet,  now " 

"It  is  not  fair,"  says  Bell.  "We  were  talking  quite 
seriously,  and  you  come  in  to  make  a  jest  of  it." 

"I  don't.  Are  you  aware  that,  at  a  lecture  Coleridge 
gave  in  the  Royal  Institution  in  1808,  he  solemnly  thanked 
his  Maker  that  he  did  not  know  a  word  of  that  frightful 
jargon,  the  French  language  ?  " 

The  women  were  much  impressed.  They  would  not  have 
dared,  themselves,  to  say  a  word  against  the  French 
language  ;  nevertheless,  Coleridge  was  a  person  of  autho- 
rity. Bell  looked  as  if  she  would  like  to  have  some  further 
opinions  of  this  sort ;  but  Mr.  Freeman  had  not  at  that 
time  uttered  his  epigram  about  the  general  resemblance  of 
a  Norman  farmer  to  "  a  man  of  Yorkshire  or  Lincolnshire 
who  has  somehow  picked  up  a  bad  habit  of  talking  French," 


364  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

nor  that  other  about  a  Dane  who,  "  in  his  sojourn  in  Gaul, 
had  put  on  a  slight  French  varnish,  and  who  came  into 
England  to  be  washed  clean  again." 

"  Now,"  I  say  to  Bell,  "  if  you  had  only  civilly  asked  me 
to  join  in  the  argument,  I  could  have  given  you  all  sorts  of 
testimony  to  the  worth  of  the  Germans  and  the  despicable 
nature  of  the  French." 

"  Yes,  to  make  the  whole  thing  absurd,"  says  Bell, 
somewhat  hurt.  "  I  don't  think  you  believe  anything 
seriously." 

"  Not  in  national  characteristics  even  ?  If  not  in  them, 
what  are  we  to  believe  ?  But  I  will  help  you  all  the  same, 
Bell.  Now,  did  you  ever  hear  of  a  sonnet  in  which 
Wordsworth,  after  recalling  some  of  the  great  names  of  the 
Commonwealth  time,  goes  on  to  say — 

'France,  'tis  strange, 

Hath  brought  forth  no  such  souls  as  we  had  then. 
Perpetual  emptiness  !  unceasing  change ! 
No  single  volume  paramount,  no  code, 
No  master  spirit,  no  determined  road; 
But  equally  a  want  of  books  and  men ! ' 

Does  that  please  you  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  says  Bell,  contentedly. 

"  Well,  did  you  ever  read  a  poem  called  '  Hands  all 
Round  ? ' " 

"  No." 

"You  never  heard  of  a  writer  in  the  Examiner  called 
'  Merlin,'  whom  people  to  this  day  maintain  was  the  Poet 
Laureate  of  England  ?  " 

«  No." 

"  Well,  listen  :— 

'What  health  to  France,  if  France  be  she 

Whom  martial  progress  only  charms  ? 
Yet  tell  her— better  to  be  free 

Than  vanquish  all  the  world  in  arms. 
Her  frantic  city's  flashing  heats 

But  fire,  to  blast,  the  hopes  of  men. 
Why  change  the  titles  of  your  streets  ? 
You  fools,  you'll  want  them  all  again. 

Hands  all  round ! 
God  the  tyrant's  cause  confound! 
To  France,  the  wiser  France,  we  drink,  my  friends, 
And  the  great  name  of  England,  round  and  round ! ' 


OF  A  PHAETON.  365 

At  that  time,  Miss  Bell,  thousands  of  people  in  this  country 
were  disquieted  about  the  possible  projects  of  the  new 
French  Government ;  and  as  it  was  considered  that  the 
Second  Napoleon  would  seek  to  establish  his  power  by  the 
fame  of  foreign  conquest " 

"  This  is  quite  a  historical  lecture,"  says  Queen  Tita,  in 
an  undertone. 

— and  as  the  Napoleonic  legend  included  the  humilia- 
tion of  England,  many  thoughtful  men  began  to  cast  about 
for  a  possible  ally  with  whom  we  could  take  the  field.  To 
which  country  did  they  turn,  do  you  think  ?  " 

"  To  Germany,  of  course,"  says  Bell,  in  the  most  natural 
way  in  the  world. 

"  Listen  again  : — 

*  Gigantic  daughter  of  the  West, 

We  drink  to  thee  across  the  flood, 
We  know  thee,  and  we  love  thee  best, 

For  art  thou  not  of  British  blood? 
Should  war's  mad  blast  again  be  blown, 

Permit  not  thou  the  tyrant  powers 
To  fight  thy  mother  here  alone, 

But  let  thy  broadsides  roar  with  ours. 

Hands  all  round ! 
God  the  tyrant's  cause  confound ! 
To  our  dear  kinsmen  of  the  West,  my  friends, 
And  the  great  name  of  England,  round  and  round ! ' " 

Bell  seemed  a  little  disappointed  that  America  and  not 
Germany  had  been  singled  out  by  the  poet ;  but  of  course 
nations  don't  choose  allies  merely  to  please  a  girl  who 
happens  to  have  engaged  herself  to  marry  a  Prussian 
officer. 

"  Now,"  I  say  to  her,  "  you  see  what  aid  I  might  have 
given  you,  if  you  only  had  asked  me  prettily.  But  suppose 
we  give  Germany  a  turn  now — suppose  we  search  about  for 
all  the  unpleasant  things — 

"  Oh  no,  please  don't,"  says  Bell,  submissively. 

This  piece  of  unfairness  was  so  obvious  and  extreme  that 
von  Rosen  himself  was  at  last  goaded  into  taking  up  the 
cause  of  France ;  and  even  went  the  length  of  suggesting 
that  peradventure  ten  righteous  men  might  be  found 
within  the  city  of  Paris.  'Twas  a  notable  concession.  I 
had  begun  to  despair  of  France,  But  no  sooner  had  the 


366  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

Lieutenant  turned  the  tide  in  her  favour  than  my  Lady 
and  Bell  seemed  graciously  disposed  to  be  generous. 
Chateaubriand  was  not  Goethe,  but  he  was  a  pleasing 
writer.  Alfred  de  Musset  was  not  Heine,  but  he  had  the 
merit  of  resembling  him.  If  Auber  did  not  exactly  reach 
the  position  of  a  Beethoven  or  a  Mozart,  one  had  listened 
to  worse  operas  than  the  "  Crown  Diamonds."  The  women 
did  not  know  much  about  philosophy  ;  but  while  they  were 
sure  that  all  the  learning  and  wisdom  of  the  world  had 
come  from  Grermany,  they  allowed  that  France  had  pro- 
duced a  few  epigrams.  In  this  amiable  frame  of  mind  we 
drove  along  the  white  road  on  this  summer  day  ;  and  after 
having  passed  the  great  gap  in  the  Moffat  Hills  which  leads 
through  to  St.  Mary's  Loch  and  all  the  wonders  of  the 
Ettrick  and  the  Yarrow,  we  drove  into  Moffat  itself,  and 
found  ourselves  in  a  large  hotel  fronting  a  great  sunlit  and 
empty  square. 

Our  young  people  had  really  conducted  themselves  very 
discreetly.  All  that  morning  you  would  scarcely  have 
imagined  that  they  had  just  made  a  solemn  promise  to 
marry  each  other  ;  but  then  they  had  been  pretty  much 
occupied  with  ancient  and  modern  history.  Now,  as  we 
entered  a  room  in  the  hotel,  the  Lieutenant  espied  a  number 
of  flowers  in  a  big  glass  vase  ;  and  without  any  pretence  of 
concealment  whatever,  he  walked  up  to  it,  selected  a  white 
rose,  and  brought  it  back  to  Bell. 

"  Mademoiselle,"  he  said,  in  a  low  voice — but  who  could 
help  hearing  him  ? — "  you  did  give  to  me,  the  other  day,  a 
forget-me-not  ;  will  you  take  this  rose  ?  " 

Mademoiselle  looked  rather  shy  for  a  moment ;  but  she 
took  the  rose,  and — with  an  affectation  of  unconcern  which 
did  not  conceal  an  extra  touch  of  colour  in  her  pretty  face 
— she  said,  "  Oh,  thank  you  very  much,"  and  proceeded  to 
put  it  into  the  bosom  of  her  dress. 

"  Madame,"  said  the  Lieutenant,  just  as  if  nothing  had 
occurred,  "  I  suppose  Moffat  is  a  sort  of  Scotch  Baden- 
Baden  ?  " 

Madame,  in  turn,  smiled  sedately,  looked  out  of  the 
window,  and  said  that  she  thought  it  was. 

When  we  went  out  for  a  lounge  after  luncheon,  we  dis- 
covered that  if  Moffat  is  to  be  likened  to  Baden-Baden,  it 


OF  A  PHAETON.  367 

forms  an  exceedingly  Scotch  and  respectable  Baden-Baden. 
The  building  in  which  the  mineral  waters  are  drunk  *  looks 
somewhat  like  an  educational  institution,  painted  white,  and 
with  prim  white  iron  railings.  Inside,  instead  of  that 
splendid  saloon  of  the  Conversationshaus  in  which,  in  the 
olden  days,  various  characters,  doubtful  and  otherwise,  used 
to~walk  up  and  down  and  chat  while  their  friends  were  losing 
five-franc  pieces  and  napoleons  in  the  adjoining  chambers, 
we  found  a  long  and  sober-looking  reading-room.  Moffat 
itself  is  a  white,  clean,  wide-streeted  place  ;  and  the  hills 
around  it  are  smooth  and  green  ;  but  it  is  very  far  removed 
from  Baden-Baden.  It  is  a  good  deal  more  proper  ;  and  a 
great  deal  more  dull.  Perhaps  we  did  not  visit  it  in  the 
height  of  the  season,  if  it  has  got  a  season  ;  but  we  were  at 
all  events  not  very  sorry  to  get  away  from  it  again,  and  out 
into  the  hilly  country  beyond. 

That  was  a  pretty  drive  up  through  Annandale.  As  you 
leave  Moffat  the  road  gradually  ascends  into  the  region  of 
the  hills  ;  and  down  below  you  lies  a  great  valley,  with  the 
river  Annan  running  through  it,  and  the  town  of  Moffat 
itself  getting  smaller  in  the  distance.  You  catch  a  glimmer 
of  the  blue  peaks  of  Westmoreland  lying  far  away  in  the 
south,  half  hid  amid  silver  haze.  The  hills  around  you 
increase  in  size  ;  and  yet  you  would  not  recognize  the  bulk 
of  the  great  round  slopes  but  for  those  minute  dots  that 
you  can  make  out  to  be  sheep,  and  for  an  occasional  wasp- 
like  creature  that  you  suppose  to  be  a  horse.  The  evening 
draws  on.  The  yellow  light  on  the  slopes  of  green  becomes 
warmer.  You  arrive  at  a  great  circular  chasm  which  is 
called  by  the  country-folks  the  Devil's  Beef -tub — a  mighty 
hollow,  the  western  sides  of  which  are  steeped  in  a  soft 
purple  shadow,  while  the  eastern  slopes  are  golden  in  the 
sunlight.  Far  away  down  in  that  misty  purple  you  can  see 
tints  of j  grey  ;  and  these  are  massespf  slate  uncovered  by 

*"Bien  entendu,  d'ailleurs,  que'le'but  du  voyage 
Est  de  prendre  les  eaux;  c'est  im  compte  regie. 
D'eaux,  je  n'en  ai  point  vu  lorsque  j'y  suis  alle; 
Mais  qu'on  ou  puisse  voir,  je  n'en  mets  rien  en  gage ; 
Je  crois  memo,  en  honneur,  que  1'eau  de  voisinage 
A,  quand  on  1'examine,  un  petit  gout  sale." 

A.   DE   MUSSET. 


368  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

grass.  The  descent  seems  too  abrupt  for  cattle,  and  yet 
there  are  faint  specks  which  may  be  sheep.  There  is  no 
house,  not  even  a  farm-house,  near  ;  and  all  traces  of  Moffat 
and  its  neighbourhood  have  long  been  left  out  of  sight. 

But  what  is  the  solitude  of  this  place  to  that  of  the  wild 
and  lofty  region  you  enter  when  you  reach  the  summits  of 
the  hills  ?  Far  away  on  every  side  of  you  stretch  miles  of 
lonely  moorland,  with  the  shoulders  of  still  more  distant 
hills  reaching  down  in  endless  succession  into  the  western 
sky.  There  is  no  sign  of  life.  The  stony  road  along 
which  you  drive  was  once  a  mail-coach  road  :  now  it  is 
overgrown  with  grass.  A  few  old  stakes,  rotten  and  tum- 
bling, show  where  it  was  necessary  at  one  time  to  place  a 
protection  against  the  sudden  descents  on  the  side  of  the 
highway ;  but  now  the  highway  itself  seems  lapsing  back 
into  moorland.  It  is  up  in  this  wilderness  of  heather  and 
wet  moss  that  the  Tweed  takes  its  rise  ;  but  we  could  hear 
no  trickling  of  any  stream  to  break  the  profound  and 
melancholy  stillness.  There  was  not  even  a  shepherd's  hut 
visible  ;  and  we  drove  on  in  silence,  scarcely  daring  to  break 
the  charm  of  the  utter  loneliness  of  the  place. 

The  road  twists  round  to  the  right.  Before  us  a  long 
valley  is  seen  ;  and  we  guess  that  it  receives  the  waters  of 
the  Tweed.  Almost  immediately  afterwards  we  come  upon 
a  tiny  rivulet  some  two  feet  in  width — either  the  young 
Tweed  itself  or  one  of  its  various  sources  ;  and  as  we  drive 
on  in  the  gathering  twilight  towards  the  valley  it  seems  as 
though  we  were  accompanied  by  innumerable  streamlets 
trickling  down  to  the  river.  The  lire  of  the  sunset  goes 
out  in  the  west ;  but  over  there  in  the  clear  green  of  the 
east  a  range  of  hills  still  glows  with  a  strange  roseate 
purple.  We  hear  the  low  murmuring  of  the  Tweed  in  the 
universal  silence.  We  get  further  and  further  down  ;  and 
now  hills  ;  and  the  neighbourhood  of  the  river  seems  to  have 
drawn  to  it  thousands  of  wild  creatures.  There  are  plover 
calling  and  whirling  over  the  marshy  levels.  There  are 
black  cock  and  grey  hen  dusting  themselves  in  the  road 
before  us,  and  waiting  until  we  are  quite  near  to  them 
before  they  wing  their  straight  flight  up  to  the  heaths 
above.  Far  over  us,  in  the  clear  green  of  the  sky,  a  brace 
of  wild  duck  go  swiftly  past.  A  weasel  glides  out  and  over 


OF  A  PHAETON.  369 

the  grey  stones  by  the  roadside  ;  and  further  along  the 
bank  there  are  young  rabbits  watching,  and  trotting,  and 
watching  again,  as  the  phaeton  gets  nearer  to  them.  And 
then,  as  the  deep  rose  purple  of  the  eastern  hills  slowly 
disappears,  and  all  the  dark  green  valley  of  the  Tweed  lies 
under  the  cold  silver-grey  of  the  twilight,  we  reach  a  small 
and  solitary  inn,  and  are  almost  surprised  to  hear  once  more 
the  sound  of  a  human  voice. 

CHAPTER  XXXI. 

OUR  EPILOGUE. 

"Nor  much  it  grieves 

To  die,  wlien  summer  dies  on  the  cold  sward. 
Why,  I  have  been  a  butterfly,  a  lord 
Of  flowers,  garlands,  love-knots,  silly  posies, 
Groves,  meadows,  melodies,  and  arbour-roses : 
My  kingdom's  at  its  death." 

WHEN  you  have  dined  on  ham  and  eggs  and  whisky  the 
evening  before,  to  breakfast  on  ham  and  eggs  and  tea  is  a 
great  relief  the  morning  after.  We  gathered  round  the 
table  in  this  remote  little  inn  with  much  thankfulness  of 
heart.  We  were  to  have  a  glorious  day  for  the  close  of  our 
journey.  All  round  the  Crook  Inn  there  was  a  glare  of 
sunshine  on  the  rowan-trees.  The  soft  greys  and  greens  of 
the  hills  on  the  other  side  of  the  river  rose  into  a  pale-blue 
sky  where  there  was  not  a  single  cloud.  And  then,  to 
complete  the  picture  of  the  moorland  hostelry,  appeared  a 
keeper  who  had  just  set  free  from  their  kennel  a  lot  of 
handsome  setters,  and  the  dogs  were  flying  hither  and 
thither  along  the  white  road  and  over  the  grass  and  weeds 
by  the  tall  hedges. 

"  Do  you  know,"  said  Bell,  "  that  this  used  to  be  a  post- 
ing-house that  had  thirty  horses  in  its  own  stables ;  and 
now  it  is  only  used  by  a  few  sportsmen  who  come  here  for 
the  fishing  and  later  on  for  the  shooting  ?  " 

So  she,  too,  had  taken  to  getting  up  in  the;  morning  and 
acquiring  information. 

"  Yes,"  she  said,  "  but  it  has  been  taken  by  a  [new  land- 
lord, who  hopes  to  have  gentlemen  come  and  lodge  here  by 
the  month  in  the  autumn." 

2  B 


370  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

She  was  beginning  to  show  a  great  interest  in  the  affairs  of 
strangers  :  hitherto  she  had  cared  for  none  of  these  things, 
except  where  one  of  our  Surrey  pensioners  was  concerned. 

"  And  the  ostler  is  such  an  intelligent  and  independent 
old  man,  who  lets  you  know  that  he  understands  horses  a 
great  deal  better  than  you." 

I  could  see  that  my  Lady  was  mentally  tracking  out 
Bell's  wanderings  of  the  morning.  Under  whose  tuition 
had  she  discovered  all  this  about  the  landlord  ?  Under 
whose  guidance  had  she  found  herself  talking  to  an  ostler 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  stables  ?  But  she  had  not 
devoted  the  whole  morning  to  such  inquiries.  We  remarked 
that  the  Lieutenant  wore  in  his  button-hole  a  small  bouquet 
of  tiny  wild-flowers,  the  faint  colours  of  which  were  most 
skilfully  combined  and  shown  up  by  a  bit  of  fern  placed  be- 
hind them.  You  may  be  sure  it  was  not  the  clumsy  fingers 
of  the  young  Uhlan  that  had  achieved  that  work  of  art. 

"  And  now,  my  dear  children,"  I  observe,  from  the  head 
of  the  table,  "  we  have  arrived  at  the  last  stage  of  our 
travels.  We  have  done  nothing  that  we  ought  to  have 
done  ;  we  have  done  everything  that  we  ought  not  to  have 
done.  As  one  of  you  has  already  pointed  out,  we  have 
never  visited  a  museum,  or  explored  a  ruin,  or  sought  out  a 
historical  scene.  Our  very  course  has  been  inconsistent, 
abnormal,  unreasonable — indeed,  if  one  were  to  imagine  a 
sheet  of  lightning  getting  tipsy  and  wandering  over  the 
country  in  a  helpless  fashion  for  several  days,  that  might 
describe  our  route.  We  have  had  no  adventures  that  could 
be  called  adventures  ;  no  experiences  to  turn  our  hair  grey 
in  a  dozen  hours  ;  only  a  general  sense  of  light,  and  fresh 
air,  and  motion,  and  laughter.  We  have  seen  green  fields, 
and  blue  skies,  and  silver  lakes  ;  we  have  seen  bright  morn- 
ings, and  breezy  days ;  and  spent  comfortable  evenings  in 
comfortable  inns.  Shall  we  not  look  back  upon  this  month  in 
our  lives,  and  call  it  the  month  of  sunshine  and  green  leaves  ?  " 

Here  a  tapping  all  round  the  table  greeted  the  orator,  and 
somewhat  disconcerted  him  ;  but  presently  he  proceeded  : — 

"  If,  at  times,  one  member  of  our  party,  in  the  reckless « 
exercise  of  a  gift  of  repartee  which  heaven,  for  some 
inscrutable  reason,  has  granted  her,  has  put  a  needle  or  two 
into  our  couch  of  eider-down—" 


OF  A  PHAETON.  371 

"  I  pronounce  this  meeting  dissolved,"  said  Bell  quickly, 
and  with  a  resolute  air. 

"  Yes,  Mademoiselle,"  put  in  the  Lieutenant.  "  It  is 
dissolved.  But  as  it  breaks  up — it  is  a  solemn  occasion 

— might  we  not  drink  one  glass  of  champagne " 

Here  a  shout  of  laughter  overwhelmed  the  young  man. 
Champagne  up  in  these  wild  moorlands  of  Peebles,  where 
the  youthful  Tweed  and  its  tributaries  wander  through  an 
absolute  solitude  !  The  motion  was  negatived  without  a 
division ;  and  then  we  went  out  to  look  after  Castor  and 
Pollux. 

All  that  morning  we  were  chased  by  a  cloud  as  we  drove 
down  the  valley  of  the  Tweed.     Around  us  there  was 
abundant  sunlight — falling  on  the  grey  bed  of  the  river,  on 
the  brown  water,  and  on  the  green  banks  and  hills  beyond  ; 
but  in  the  south-west  was  a  great  mass  of  cloud,  which 
came  slowly  advancing  with  its  gloom.     Here  we  were  still 
in  the  brightness  of  the  yellow  glare  ;  with  a  cool  breeze 
stirring  the  rowan-trees  and  the  tall  weeds  by  the  side  of 
the  river.    Then,  as  we  got  further  down  the  valley,  the 
bed  of  the  stream  grew  broader.     There  were  wide  banks 
of  grey  pebbles  visible,  and  the  brown  water  running  in 
shallow  channels    between,  where  the  stones  fretted  its 
surface,  and  caused  a  murmur  that  seemed  to  fill  the  silence 
of  the  surrounding   hills.      Now  and  again   we  beheld  a 
solitary  fisherman,  standing  in  the  river  and  persistently 
whipping    the   stream  with    his    supple  fly-rod.    A  few 
cottages  began  to  appear  at  considerable  intervals.     But  we 
came  to  no  village ;  and  as  for  an  inn,  we  never  expected 
to  see  one.    "We  drove  leisurely  along  the  now  level  road, 
through  a  country  rich  with  waving  fields  of  grain,  and 
dotted    here  and    there  with  comfortable-looking    farm- 
houses. 
Then  Bell  sang  to  us  : — 

"Upon  a  time  I  chanced 
To  walk  along  the  green, 
Where  pretty  lasses  danced 
In  strife,  to  choose  a  queen; 
Some  homely  dressed,  some  handsome, 
Some  pretty  and  some  gay, 
But  who  excelled  in  dancing 
Must  be  the  Queen  of  May." 

2  B  2 


372  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

But  when  she  had  sung  the  last  verse — 

I  "Then  all  the  rest  in  sorrow, 
And  she  in  sweet  content, 
Gave  over  till  the  morrow, 
And  homewards  straight  they  went. 
But  she,  of  all  the  rest, 
Was  hindered  by  the  way, 
For  every  youth  that  met  her 
Must  kiss  the  Queen  of  May," — 

my  Lady  said  it  was  very  pretty,  only  why  did  Bell  sing  an 
English  song  after  she  had  been  trying  to  persuade  us  that 
she  held  the  English  and  their  music  in  contempt  ? 

"  Now  did  I  ever  say  anything  like  that  ?  "  said  Bell, 
turning  in  an  injured  way  to  the  Lieutenant. 

"  No,"  answered  he,  boldly.  If  she  had  asked  him  to  swear 
that  two  and  two  were  seven,  he  would  have  said  that  the 
man  was  a  paralyzed  imbecile  who  did  not  know  it  already. 

"  But  I  will  sing  you  a  Scotch  song,  if  you  please,"  said 
Bell,  shrewdly  suspecting  that  that  was  the  object  of  Tita's 
protest. 

"  Will  ye  gang  to  the  Hielands,  Leezie  Lindsay  ?  " — 
this  was  what  our  Bonny  Bell  sang  now  : — 

"Will  ye  gang  to  the  Hielands  wi'  me? 
Will  ye  gang  to  the  Hielands,  Leezie  Lindsay, 
My  pride  and  my  darling  to  be?" 

"  To  gang  to  the  Hielands  wi'  you,  sir, 

I  dinna  ken  how  that  may  be; 
For  I  ken  nae  the  land  that  you  live  in, 
Nor  ken  I  the  lad  I'm  gaun  wi'." 

And  so  forth  to  the  end,  where  the  young  lady  "  kilts  up 
her  coats  o'  green  satin,"  and  is  off  with  Lord  Ronald 
Macdonald.  Probably  the  Lieutenant  meant  only  to  show 
that  he  knew  the  meaning  of  the  word  "  Hielands ;"  but 
when  he  said — 

"  And  we  do  go  to  the  Highlands,  yes  ?  "  the  girl  was 
greatly  taken  aback.  It  seemed  as  though  he  were  coolly 
placing  himself  and  her  in  the  position  of  the  hero  and 
heroine  of  the  song ;  and  my  Lady  smiled ;  and  Bell  got 
confused  ;  and  the  Lieutenant,  not  knowing  what  was  the 
matter,  stared,  and  then  turned  to  me  to  repeat  the 


OF  A  PHAETON.  373 

question.  By  this  time  Bell  had  recovered  herself,  and  she 
answered  hastily — 

"  Oh  yes,  we  shall  go  to  the  Highlands,  shall  we 
not  ? — to  the  Trossachs,  and  Ben  Nevis,  and  Auchna- 
sheen " 

"  And  the  Orkneys  too,  Bell  ?  Do  you  know  the  wild 
proposal  you  are  making  in  laying  out  plans  for  another 
month's  holiday  ?  " 

"  And  why  not  ?  "  says  the  Lieutenant.  "  It  is  only  a 
pretence,  this  talk  of  much  work.  You  shall  send  the 
horses  and  phaeton  back  by  the  rail  from  Edinburgh  ;  then 
you  are  free  to  go  away  anywhere  for  another  month.  Is 
it  not  so,  Madame  ?  " 

Madame  is  silent.  She  knows  that  she  has  only  to  say 
"  yes  "  to  have  the  thing  settled  ;  but  thoughts  of  home  and 
the  cares  of  that  pauperised  parish  crowd  in  upon  her  mind. 

"  I  suppose  we  shall  get  letters  from  the  boys  to-night, 
when  we  reach  Edinburgh.  There  will  be  news  from 
home,  too,  saying  whether  everything  is  right  down  there. 
There  may  be  no  reason  for  going  back  at  once." 

She  was  evidently  yielding.  Was  it  that  she  wanted  to 
give  those  young  people  the  chance  of  a  summer  ramble 
which  they  would  remember  for  the  rest  of  their  life  ? 
The  prospect  lent  a  kindly  look  to  her  face  ;  and,  indeed, 
the  whole  of  them  looked  so  exceedingly  happy,  and  so 
dangerously  forgetful  of  the  graver  aspects  of  life,  that  it 
was  thought  desirable  to  ask  them  whether  there  might  not 
be*  a  message  from  Arthur  among  the  batch  of  letters 
awaiting  us  in  Edinburgh. 

'Twas  a  random  stroke,  but  it  struck  home.  The 
conscience  of  these  careless  people  was  touched.  They 
knew  in  their  inmost  hearts  that  they  had  wholly  forgotten 
that  unhappy  young  man  whom  they  had  sent  back  to 
Twickenham  with  all  his  faith  in  human  nature  destroyed 
for  ever.  But  was  it  pity  for  him  that  now  filled  their 
faces  ;  or  a  vague  dread  that  Arthur  might,  in  the  last 
extremity  of  his  madness,  have  gone  up  to  Edinburgh  by 
rail  to  meet  us  there  ? 

"  He  promised  us  an  important  communication,"  observed 
my  Lady. 

She  would  not  say  that  it  was  understood  to  refer  to  his 


374  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

marriage  ;  but  that  was  the  impression  he  had  left.  Very 
probably,  too,  she  was  haunted  by  speculations  as  to  how 
such  a  marriage,  if  it  took  place,  would  turn  out;  and 
whether  little  Katty  Tatham  would  be  able  to  reconcile 
Arthur  to  his  lot,  and  convince  him  that  he  was  very 
fortunate  in  not  having  married  that  faithless  Bell. 

"Madame,"  said  the  Lieutenant,  suddenly — he  did  not 
care  to  have  that  pitiful  fellow  Arthur  receive  so  much 
consideration — "  this  is  a  very  sober  country.  Shall  we 
never  come  to  an  inn  ?  The  champagne  I  spoke  of,  that 
has  gone  away  as  a  dream ;  but  on  this  warm  day  a  little 
lemonade  and  a  little  whisky— that  would  do  to  drink  the 
health  of  our  last  drive,  yes  ?  But  there  is  no  inn — 
nothing  but  those  fields  of  corn  and  farm-houses." 

At  last,  however,  we  came  to  a  village.  The  Lieutenant 
proposed  to  pull  up  and  give  Castor  and  Pollux  a  mouthful 
of  water  and  oatmeal — it  was  always  Castor  and  Pollux 
that  were  supposed  to  be  thirsty.  But  what  was  his 
amazement  to  find  that  in  the  village  there  was  no  inn  of 
any  kind ! 

"  I  wish  there  were  some  villages  of  this  sort  down  in  our 
part  of  the  country,"  said  Queen  Tita,  with  a  sigh.  "  With 
us,  they  build  the  public-house  first,  and  that  draws  other 
settlers." 

And  with  that  Bell  began  to  relate  to  the  Lieutenant 
how  my  Lady  was  once  vexed  beyond  measure  to  find — 
just  as  she  was  coming  out  of  an  obscure  public-house  on 
a  Sunday  morning,  after  having  compelled  the  tipsy  and 
quarrelling  landlord  thereof  to  beg  forgiveness  of  his  wife — • 
a  whole  group  of  visitors  at  the  Squire's  house  coming 
along  the  road  from  church,  and  staring  at  her  as  if  she 
had  gone  into  the  tavern  for  refreshment.  It  was  a  vastly 
interesting  story,  perhaps ;  but  the  young  man  paid 
little  heed  to  it.  He  wore  an  injured  look.  He  kept 
looking  far  ahead  along  the  rQad ;  and,  although  it  was  a 
very  pretty  road,  he  did  not  seem  satisfied.  At  length  he 
pulled  the  horses  up,  and  hailed  a  farmer  who,  in  his  white 
shirt-sleeves,  was  working  in  a  field  close  by,  along  with  a 
domestic  group  of  fellow-labourers. 

"  I  say,"  called  out  the  Lieutenant,  "  isn't  there  an  inn 
on  this  road  ?  " 


OF  A  PHAETON.  375 

"  Ay,  that  there  is,"  answered  the  man,  with  a  grim  smile, 
as  he  rose  up  and  drew  his  sleeve  across  his  forehead. 

"  How  far  yet  ? " 

"  Twa  miles.     It's  a  temperance  hoose  !  " 

"  A  temperance  hoose,"  said  the  Lieutenant  to  Bell ; 
"  what  is  a  temperance  hoose  ?  " 

"  They  don't  sell  any  spirits  there,  or  "beer,  or  wine." 

"  And  is  that  what  is  called  temperance  ?  "  said  the 
Lieutenant,  in  a  peevish  way  ;  and  then  he  called  out  again, 
"  Look  here,  my  good  friend,  when  do  we  come  to  a  proper 
kind  of  inn  ?  " 

"  There  is  an  inn  at  Ledburn — that's  eight  miles  on." 

"  Eight  miles  !     And  where  was  the  last  one  we  passed  ?  " 

"  "Well,  that  maun  be  about  seven  miles  back." 

"  Thank  you.  It  is  healthy  for  you,  perhaps  ;  but  how 
you  can  live  in  a  place  where  there  is  no  public-house  not 
for  fifteen  miles — well,  it  is  a  wonder.  Good  day  to  you  !  " 

"  Gude  day,  sir  !  "  said  the  farmer,  with  a  broad,  good- 
humoured  laugh  on  his  face  :  the  Lieutenant  was  obviously 
not  the  first  thirsty  soul  who  had  complained  of  the  scarcity 
of  inns  in  these  parts. 

"These  poor  horses,"  growled  the  Lieutenant,  as  we 
drove  on.  "  It  is  the  hottest  day  we  have  had.  The  clouds 
have  gone  away,  and  we  have  beaten  in  the  race.  And 
other  eight  miles  in  this  heat " 

He  would  probably  have  gone  on  compassionating  the 
horses,  but  that  he  caught  a  glimpse  of  Bell  demurely 
smiling,  and  then  he  said — 

"  Ha,  you  think  I  speak  for  myself,  Mademoiselle  ? 
That  also,  for  when  you  give  your  horses  water,  you  should 
drink  yourself  always,  for  the  good  of  the  inn.  But  now 
that  we  can  get  nothing,  Madame,  shall  we  imagine  it, 
yes  ?  "What  we  shall  drink  at  the  Ledburn  inn  ?  Have 
you  tried,  on  a  hot  day,  this — one  glass  of  hock  poured 
into  a  tumbler,  then  a  bottle  of  seltzer  water,  then  three 
drops  of  Angostura  bitters,  and  a  lump  of  ice  ?  That  is 
very  good ;  and  this  too — you  put  a  glass  of  pale  sherry 

in  the  tumbler,  then  a  little  lemon  juice " 

"  Please,  Count  von  Eosen,  may  I  write  it  down  in  my 
note-book  ? "  says  Tita,  hurriedly.  "  You  know  I  have 
your  recipe  for  a  luncheon.  "Wouldn't  these  do  for  it  ?  " 


376  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

"Yes,  and  for  you!"  says  a  third  voice.  "What 
madness  has  seized  you,  to  talk  of  ice  and  hock  in  connec- 
tion with  Ledburn  ?  If  you  get  decent  Scotch  whisky  and 
ham  and  eggs  for  luncheon,  you  may  consider  yourselves 
well  off." 

"  1  am  a  little  tired  of  that  sort  of  banquet,"  says  my 
Lady,  with  a  gentle  look  of  resignation.  "Couldn't  we 
drive  on  to  Edinburgh  ?  " 

But  for  the  sake  of  the  horses,  we  should  all  have  been 
glad  to  do  that ;  for  the  appearance  of  this  Ledburn  inn, 
when  we  got  to  it,  impressed  us  with  awe  and  terror.  'Tis 
a  cutthroat-looking  place.  The  dingy  dilapidated  building 
stands  at  the  parting  of  two  roads  ;  the  doors  were  shut  as 
we  drove  up  to  it ;  there  was  no  one  about  of  whom  we 
could  ask  a  question.  It  looked  the  sort  of  place  for 
travellers  to  reach  at  dead  of  night,  and  become  the  subject 
of  one  or  other  of  the  sombre  adventures  which  are 
associated  with  remote  and  gloomy  inns  in  the  annals  of 
romance.  And  when  we  did  get  hold  of  the  landlord,  his 
appearance  was  not  prepossessing.  He  was  a  taciturn  and 
surly  person.  There  was  apparently  no  ostler  ;  and  he 
helped  von  Rosen  to  take  the  horses  out  of  the  phaeton  ; 
but  he  did  so  in  a  fashion  which  awoke  the  ire  of  the 
Lieutenant  to  a  serious  degree  ;  and  some  sharp  words  were 
being  bandied  about  when  I  drove  the  women  into  the  inn. 

"  That  is  a  dreadful  person,"  said  my  Lady. 

"  Why  ?  He  has  become  morose  in  this  solitary  inn, 
that  is  all.  If  you  were  shut  up  here  for  a  few  years,  what 
would  you  become  ?  " 

We  had  ham  and  eggs  and  whisky  in  a  dingy  little 
chamber  upstairs.  The  women  would  touch  nothing — 
notwithstanding  that  the  Lieutenant  came  in  to  announce 
that  the  shoe  of  one  of  the  horses  had  got  loose,  and 
that  a  smith  would  have  to  be  sent  for  from  some  distance 
away.  Moreover,  when  the  smith  did  come,  it  was  found 
that  our  ingenious  landlord  had  not  informed  him  what 
was  required  of  him,  and  consequently  he  had  brought  no 
tools.  Should  we  send  the  horse  back  with  him,  or  would 
he  despatch  a  boy  for  his  tools  ? 

"  How  many  miles  is  it  to  Edinburgh  ?  "  says  my  Lady. 

"  About  a  dozen,  I  should  think." 


OF  A  PHAETON.  377 

"  We  couldn't  walk  that,  do  you  think  ?  "  she  says  to 
Bell,  with  a  doubtful  air. 

Bell  could  walk  it  very  well,  I  know ;  but  she  regards 
her  companion  for  a  moment,  and  says — 

"  We  must  not  try." 

Looking  at  this  fix,  and  at  the  annoyance  the  women 
experienced  in  being  detained  at  this  inhospitable  hostelry, 
our  young  Prussian  got  dreadfully  enraged.  He  was  all  the 
more  wroth  that  there  was  no  one  on  whom  he  could  reason- 
ably vent  his  anger  ;  and,  in  fact,  it  was  a  most  fortunate 
thing  for  our  host  that  he  had  at  last  condescended  to  be  a 
little  more  civil.  The  Lieutenant  came  up  into  the  room, 
and  proposed  that  we  should  play  at  bezique.  Impossible. 
Or  would  Mademoiselle  care  to  have  the  guitar  taken  out  ? 
Mademoiselle  would  prefer  to  have  it  remain  where  it  was. 
And  at  length  we  went  outside  and  sat  in  the  yard,  or 
prowled  along  the  uninteresting  road,  until  the  smith 
arrived,  and  then  we  had  the  horses  put  to  and  set  out 
upon  the  last  stage  of  our  journey. 

We  drove  on  in  the  deepening  sunset.  The  ranges  of 
the  Pentland  Hills  on  our  left  were  growing  darker ;  and 
the  wild  moorland  country  around  was  getting  to  be  of  a 
deeper  and  deeper  purple.  Sometimes,  from  the  higher 
portions  of  the  road,  we  caught  a  glimpse  of  Arthur's  Seat, 
and  in  the  whiter  sky  of  the  north-east  it  lay  there  like  a 
pale-blue  cloud.  We  passed  through  Pennycuick,  pictur- 
esquely placed  along  the  wooded  banks  of  the  North  Esk. 
But  we  were  driving  leisurely  enough  along  the  level  road  ; 
for  the  horses  had  done  a  good  day's  work,  and  there  still 
remained  a  few  miles  before  they  had  earned  their  rest. 

Was  it  because  we  were  drawing  near  a  great  city  that 
von  Eosen  somewhat  abruptly  asked  my  Lady  what  was 
the  best  part  of  London  to  live  in  ?  The  question  was  an 
odd  one  for  a  young  man.  Bell  pretended  not  to  hear — 
she  was  busy  with  the  reins.  Whereupon  Tita  began  to 
converse  with  her  companion  about  the  troubles  of  taking  a 
house,  and  how  your  friends  would  inevitably  wonder  how 
you  could  have  chosen  such  a  neighbourhood  instead  of 
their  neighbourhood,  and  would  assure  you,  with  much  com- 
passion, that  you  had  paid  far  too  much. 

"And  as  for  Pimlico,"  I  say  to  him,  "you  can't  live 


378  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

there  ;  the  sight  of  its  stucco  would  kill  you  in  a  month. 
And  as  for  Brompton,  you  can't  live  there  ;  it  lies  a 
hundred  feet  below  the  level  of  the  Thames.  And  as  for 
South  Kensington,  you  can't  live  there  ;  it  is  a  huddled 
mass  of  mews.  And  as  for  Belgravia  or  Mayfair,  you  can't 
live  there  ;  for  you  could  not  pay  the  rent  of  a  good  house, 
and  the  bad  houses  are  in  slums.  Paddington  ? — a 
thousand  miles  from  a  theatre.  Hampstead  ? — good-bye 
to  your  friends.  Bloomsbury  ? — the  dulness  of  it  will 
send  you  to  an  early  grave.  Islington  ? — you  will  acquire 
a  Scotch  accent  in  a  fortnight.  Clapham  ? — you  will 
become  a  Dissenter.  Denmark  Hill  ? — they  will  exclude 
you  from  all  the  fashionable  directories.  Brixton  ? — the 
*  endless  meal  of  brick  '  will  drive  you  mad.  But  then  it  is 
true  that  Pimlico  is  the  best-drained  part  of  London.  And 
Brompton  has  the  most  beautiful  old  gardens.  And  South 
Kensington  brings  you  close  to  all  sorts  of  artistic  treasures. 
And  Hampstead  has  a  healthy  situation.  And  Mayfair  is 
close  to  the  Park.  And  Clapham  is  close  to  several 
commons,  and  offers  you  excellent  drives.  And  Denmark 
Hill  is  buried  in  trees,  and  you  descend  from  it  into 
meadows  and  country  lanes.  And  Islington  is  celebrated 
for  possessing  the  prettiest  girls  in  the  world.  And 
Brixton  has  a  gravelly  soil — so  that  you  see,  looking  at  all 
these  considerations,  you  will  have  no  difficulty  whatever  in 
deciding  where  you  ought  to  live." 

"  I  think,"  says  the  young  man,  gravely, "  that  the  easiest 
way  of  choosing  a  house  in  London  is  to  take  one  in  the 
country." 

"  Oh,  do  live  in  the  country  !  "  exclaims  Tita,  with  much 
anxiety.  "  You  can  go  so  easily  up  to  London  and  take 
rooms  about  Bond  Street  or  in  Half-moon  Street,  if  you 
wish  to  see  pictures  or  theatres.  And  what  part  of  the 
country  near  London  could  you  get  prettier  than  down  by 
Leatherhead  ?  " 

Bell  is  not  appealed  to.  She  will  not  hear.  She  pretends 
to  be  desperately  concerned  about  the  horses.  And  so  the 
discussion  is  postponed,  sine  die,  until  the  evening  ;  and  in 
the  gathering  darkness  we  approach  Edinburgh. 

How  long  the  way  seemed  on  this  the  last  night  of  our 
driving  !  The  clear  twilight  slowly  faded  ;  and  the  over- 


OF  A  PHAETON.  379 

arching  heavens  began  to  show  faint  throbbings  of  the  stars. 
A  pale  yellow  glow  on  the  horizon  told  us  where  the  lights  of 
Edinburgh  were  afire.  The  road  grew  almost  indistinguish- 
able ;  but  overhead  the  great  worlds  became  more  visible 
in  the  deep  vault  of  blue.  In  a  perfect  silence  we  drove 
along  the  still  highway,  between  the  sombre  hedges  ;  and 
clearer  and  more  clear  grew  these  white  constellations, 
in  the  placid  skies.  What  was  my  Lady  thinking  of — of 
Arthur,  or  her  boys  at  Twickenham,  or  of  long-forgotten 
days  at  Eastbourne — as  she  looked  up  at  all  the  wonders  of 
the  night !  There  lay  King  Charles's  Wain  as  we  had 
often  regarded  it  from  a  boat  at  sea,  as  we  floated  idly  on  the 
lapping  waves.  The  jewels  on  Cassiopeia's  chair  glimmered 
faint  and  pale  ;  and  all  the  brilliant  stars  of  the  Dragon's 
hide  trembled  in  the  dark.  The  one  bright  star  of  the 
Swan  recalled  many  an  evening  in  the  olden  times ; 
here,  nearer  at  hand,  Capella  shone  ;  and  yonder  Cepheus 
looked  over  to  the  pole-star  as  from  the  distance  of  another 
universe.  Somehow  it  seemed  to  us  that  under  the  vast 
and  throbbing  vault  the  sea  ought  to  be  lying  around  its 
cliffs  ;  but  those  were  other  masses  we  saw  before  us,  where 
the  crags  of  Arthur's  Seat  rose  sharp  and  black  into  the 
sky.  We  ran  in  almost  under  the  shadow  of  that  silent 
bulk  of  hill.  We  drew  nearer  to  the  town  ;  and  then  we 
saw  before  us  long  and  waving  lines  of  flame — the  gas- 
lamps  of  a  mighty  street.  We  left  the  majesty  of  the  night 
outside,  and  were  soon  in  the  heart  of  the  great  city.  Our 
journey  was  at  an  end. 

But  when  the  horses  had  been  consigned  to  their  stables, 
and  all  arrangements  made  for  their  transference  next  day 
to  London,  we  sat  down  at  the  window  of  a  Princes  Street 
Hotel.  The  tables  behind  were  inviting  enough.  Our 
evening  meal  had  been  ordered ;  and  at  length  the 
Lieutenant  had  the  wish  of  his  heart  in  procuring  the 
Schaumwein  with  which  to  drink  to  the  good  health  of  our 
good  horses  that  had  brought  us  so  far.  But  what  in  all 
the  journey  was  there  to  equal  the  magic  sight  that  lay 
before  us  as  we  turned  to  these  big  panes  ?  Beyond  a  gulf 
of  blackness  the  old  town  of  Edinburgh  rose  with  a  thousand 
points  of  fire  into  the  clear  sky  of  a  summer  night.  The 
tall  houses,  with  their  eight  or  nine  stories,  had  their 


380  THE  STRANGE  ADVENTURES 

innumerable  windows  ablaze  ;  and  the  points  of-  orange 
light  shone  in  the  still  blue  shadow  until  they  seemed  to 
form  part  of  some  splendid  and  enchanted  palace  built  on 
the  slopes  of  a  lofty  hill.  And  then  beyond  that  again  we 
could  see  the  great  crags  of  the  Castle  looming  dark  ;  and 
we  knew,  rather  than  saw,  that  there  were  walls  and 
turrets  up  there,  cold  and  distant,  looking  down  on  the 
yellow  glare  of  the  city  beneath.  What  was  Cologne  with 
the  coloured  lamps  of  its  steamers — as  you  see  them  cross 
the  smooth  waters  of  the  Rhine  when  a  full  moon  shines 
over  the  houses  of  Deutz — or  what  was  Prague  with  its 
countless  spires  piercing  the  starlight  and  its  great  bridge 
crossing  over  to  the  wooded  heights  of  the  Hradschin — 
compared  to  this  magnificent  spectacle  in  the  noblest  city  of 
the  world  ?  The  lights  of  the  distant  houses  went  out  one 
by  one.  The  streets  became  silent.  Even  the  constellations 
grew  paler  ;  but  why  was  that  ?  A  faint  radiance,  golden 
and  soft,  began  to  steal  along  the  Castle-hill ;  and  the 
strange  splendour  touched  the  sharp  slopes,  the  trees,  and 
the  great  grey  walls  above,  which  were  under  the  stars. 

"  Oh,  my  dear,"  says  Tita,  quite  gently,  to  Bell,  "  we 
have  seen  nothing  like  that,  not  even  in  your  own  country 
of  the  Lakes  !  " 

[Note  by  Queen  Titania. — "It  seems  they  have  put  upon  me  the 
responsibility  of  saying  the  last  word,  which  is  not  quite  fair.  In  the 
old  comedies  it  was  always  the  heroine  of  the  piece  who  came  forward 
to  the  footlights,  and  in  her  prettiest  way  spoke  the  epilogue ;  and  of 
course  the  heroine  was  always  young  and  nice-looking.  If  Bell 
would  only  do  that,  now,  I  am  sure  you  would  be  pleased ;  but  she  is 
afraid  to  appear  in  public.  As  for  myself,  I  don't  know  what  to  say. 
Count  von  Rosen  suggests  that  I  should  copy  some  of  the  ancient 
authors  and  merely  say  '  Farewell,  and  clap  your  hands ; '  but  very 
likely  that  is  a  joke — for  who  can  tell  when  gentlemen  intend  to  be 
amusing  ? — and  perhaps  they  never  said  anything  so  foolish.  But,  as 
you  are  not  to  be  addressed  by  the  heroine  of  the  piece,  perhaps, 
considering  my  age — which  I  am  seldom  allowed  to  forget — perhaps  a 
word  of  advice  may  be  permitted.  And  that  is  to  the  ladies  and 
gentlemen  who  always  go  abroad  and  spend  a  great  deal  of  time  and 
money  in  hiring  carriages  to  drive  them  in  foreign  parts.  Of  course 
everyone  ought  to  go  abroad ;  but  why  every  year  ?  I  am  sure  I  am 
not  prejudiced,  and  I  never  enjoyed  any  tour  abroad  so  much  as  this  one 
through  England.  I  do  consider  England  (and  of  course  you  must 
include  Scotland  and  Ireland)  the  most  beautiful  country  in  the  world. 
I  have  never  been  to  America ;  but  that  does  not  matter.  It  cannot  be 


OF  A  PHAETON.  381 

more  beautiful  than  England.  If  it  is,  so  much  the  better ;  but  I  for 
one  am  quite  satisfied  with  England ;  and  as  for  the  old-fashioned 
and  quaint  places  you  meet  on  a  driving  tour  such  as  this,  I  am  sure 
the  American  ladies  and  gentlemen  whom  I  have  met  have  always 
admitted  to  me  that  they  were  delightful.  Well,  that  is  all.  I  shall 
say  nothing  about  our  young  friends,  for  I  think  sufficient  revelations 
have  been  made  in  the  foregoing  pages.  Arthur  has  only  been  to  see 
us  once  since  our  return ;  and  of  course  we  could  not  ask  him  the  reason 
of  his  getting  married  so  unexpectedly,  for  Katty  was  with  him,  and 
very  pleased  and  happy  she  looked.  Arthur  was  very  civil  to  our 
Bell ;  which  shows  that  his  marriage  has  improved  him  in  one  respect ; 
but  he  was  a  little  cold  and  distant  at  the  same  time.  The  poor  girl 
was  dreadfully  frightened;  but  she  made  herself  very  friendly  to 
him,  and  kissed  little  Katty  in  the  most  affectionate  manner  when 
they  were  going  away.  Luckily,  perhaps,  Lieutenant  von  Kosen  was 
up  in  London ;  but  when  he  came  down  next  day,  Bell  had  a  great 
deal  to  tell  him  in  private ;  and  the  result  of  the  conversation — of 
which  we  elderly  folks,  of  course,  are  not  permitted  to  know  anything 
• — seemed  to  be  very  pleasing  to  them  both.  Then  there  was  a  talk 
between  my  husband  and  him  in  the  evening  about  a  loose-box  in 
certain  stables.  Bell  came  and  put  her  arm  round  my  waist,  and 
besought  me  very  prettily  to  tell  her  what  were  the  nicest  colours  for 
a  drawing-room.  It  seems  there  is  some  house,  about  a  couple  of 
miles  from  here,  which  they  have  visited ;  but  I  am  not  going  to  tell 
you  any  more.  As  our  Bell  is  too  shy  to  come  forward,  I  suppose  I 
must  say  good-bye  for  her,  and  thank  you  very  much  indeed  for 
coming  with  us  so  far  on  such  a  long  and  roundabout  journey. — T."] 


THE  END. 


LONDON  t 
PKINTED  BY  WILLIAM  CLOWES  AND  SONS,  LIMITED, 

STAMFOBD  STBEET  AND  CHASING  CBOSS. 


The  following  is  a  complete  list  of  the  new  Half-Crown  Edition 
of  Mr.  BLACK'S  Novels,  and  the  probable  order  of  their 
monthlij  issue  beginning  January  1892. 


A  Daughter  of  Heth. 

The  Strange  Adventures  of  a 

Phaeton. 

A  Princess  of  Thule. 
In  Silk  Attire. 
Kilmeny. 
Madcap  Violet. 
Three  Feathers. 
The  Maid  of  Killeeaa. 
Green  Pastures  and  Piccadilly. 
Macleod  of  Dare. 
Lady  Silverdale's  Sweetheart. 
White  Wings. 
Sunrise. 


The  Beautiful  Wretch. 

Shan  don  Bells. 

Adventures  in  Thule. 

Yolande. 

Judith  Shakespeare. 

The  Wise  Women  of  Inverness. 

White  Heather. 

Sabina  Zembra. 

The  Strange  Adventures  of  a 

House  Boat. 
In  Far  Lochaber. 
The  Penance  of  John  Logan. 
Prince  Fortunatus. 


NEW  YORK:    HARPEE  AND  BROTHERS. 


"TVERSTTV    OF 


I    IJ  / 


264012 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


